And Then There Were Two
by DameBlaiddDrwg
Summary: "Well, well. This is the first time I've ever seen you thrown for a loop, Snape." One of the other portraits laughed, and the one in front of Albus snarled, scowling. Albus thought that he looked more natural that way...
1. Not All Bad

******Disclaimer: I am, most unfortunately, not J.K. Rowling... so if you recognize something, it's not mine.**

**A/N: This is slightly AU, as of right now only because Remus Lupin is still alive. I'm just too partial to werewolves (and David Thewlis!) to keep him away. :)  
**

**This is a story that follows Harry's youngest son, Albus Severus Potter, as he experiences his first year at Hogwarts, and meets a rather unsettling character that we all know...**

* * *

_**Then There Were Two**_

**Chapter 1**

He was just finishing up dinner with his fellow Housemates when the Headmistress approached their table.

"Mr. Potter, when you are finished, please meet me in my offices," She leaned down to whisper in his ear, "The password is 'doppelganger'." And without another glance to any of them, she turned on her heel and strode out of the Great Hall.

He frowned as he watched her leave. The others had told him that she was a Gryffindor, and hard-pressed to be cordial to any of the Slytherins, especially since the Last Great Wizarding War. Was he already in trouble for something? He wasn't aware that he'd done anything wrong; the first day of classes had gone surprisingly smoothly.

"What'd she catch you doing?" Scorpius Malfoy asked him, disappointment etched across his face. Albus knew that he would not be on good terms with any of them if he got House points taken away from them on the very first day. Albus looked hesitantly at his new friend, and shrugged.

***Flashback***

Yesterday, when all the First Years had been sorted, his name had been called and a ragged, blackened, old hat had been precariously placed on top of his head. Had he not just watched a number of others go through this process, he would have been worried that the hat would disintegrate upon contact. Nonetheless, it soon began to speak in a very powerful way that was very unlike it's physical looks. _This hat must be really Old Magic,_he remembered thinking. He was so caught up in the awe of what was going on, he missed the first few words the hat had said.

_"So, what do you think, boy? Another Potter, eh? I'm sure you want to be in Gryffindor like all those before you…"_

"Actually…I'm not sure…"

And he really wasn't. If he was honest, he really _didn't_ want to be put in Gryffindor. He wanted to be different than the rest of his family – he _knew _he was different than the rest of them. When they were younger, James had always said Albus was the strange one out of all of them. His father didn't seem to mind at all – in fact, he even encouraged it…

_"Ah, I see…"_The hat was following his thoughts! Again, Albus was pleasantly surprised at the power of the ragged old thing. The hat seemed to smirk, and then shouted for all the Great Hall to hear,

"SLYTHERIN!" There was an almost imperceptible moment of silence before the Slytherin table began to cheer and clap, as was customary. The Deputy Headmaster, who was also the new Head of Gryffindor House, plucked up the hat and urged Albus toward his new House-mates. Albus cast a worried glance toward the man, who offered an encouraging smile.

"Don't fret, Albus. Some very good wizards have come from the Slytherin House." Remus Lupin squeezed his shoulder before once more turning his attention to the list of students in his hand.

As Albus made his way toward the table, he tried his best not to appear nervous. From all he was told about the Slytherin House, it would be best not to appear as the underdog. He glanced toward the Gryffindor table as he passed by, catching the eye of his older brother, James. He looked quite surprised, and his friends next to him were nudging his sides and whispering. Albus couldn't help the small smirk that crossed his face, and his confidence grew as he stood in front of his new House-mates.

"Hey, come sit next to me, Albus. The name's Scorpius Malfoy." As he sat down next to the white-blonde haired boy and shook his hand, Scorpius added, "My dad and your dad used to hate one another." He simply said this as a fact, nodded, and turned back to face the rest of the First Years that had yet to be sorted. Albus blinked, but when he detected no hostility, nodded and looked to the boy who sat on his other side.

"I'm Eric Zabini. So far you, me, and Malfoy here, are the only new Slytherin guys. And then there's Augustus Flynn; he's our Head Boy. He's a Sixth Year, and he's pretty cool. You have a problem with anybody, you tell him. He'll take care of it." Zabini informed him, and Albus nodded again and shook his hand. Flynn, who'd overheard, leaned over across the table a few seats down.

"You know, it's kind of surprising. Everyone knows about the Potter's – you've got to be the first to ever be put in Slytherin," He sounded rather proud, and stretched one of his long arms across the table, "It's an honor." He smiled as Albus shook his hand, surprised.

"Er, thanks…" He replied, and then glanced toward Malfoy, who'd turned back toward the table. The rather lanky blonde boy grinned and clapped a hand to his back.

"We take care of our own." Albus smiled back after a moment, finally relaxed. These guys didn't seem that bad at all.

"Selwyn, Aideen!" Uncle Remus – _er, I guess I gotta call him Professor Lupin, now_– called loudly. As the hat began muttering to the young girl – Albus was pleased to find out that no one else could hear what it was saying – Eric and Scorpius conferred with one another.

"Half English, half Celtic name?" Zabini mused.

"Think she's a half-blood?" Malfoy asked, and Albus frowned as a few of them laughed.

"The Selwyn's are an old pure-blood family; almost as old as yours, Malfoy. And, as I know of your father and his previous… intentions… I hope you'll learn to watch your mouth around here." Flynn reprimanded him, and called the attention of the entire table, "I don't want to hear a _single one of you_ utter 'mudblood'. _Ever_. And if I catch wind that you've said it to someone else, well, you won't like the consequences."

Most of them looked at the Head Boy in shock, including Albus. Flynn sent them all a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, I know we're Slytherins, and yeah, we're the best at Hogwarts and all that," Here, the others smirked at one another, "But I don't want to have to deal with this crap. I don't care what the rest of you believe or what you decide to do in your free time – just keep that word out of the halls."

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat's bellow interrupted Flynn's speech, and as the table of blue began to cheer and clap, he paused until the noise died down.

Albus wondered if Flynn himself was Muggle-born. He knew that it wasn't unheard of for the Slytherin House to have half-bloods, but would the hat ever put a Muggle-born in the middle of the lion's den? _Or perhaps, _he thought wryly, _I should say the snake's den. _The Head Boy certainly had strong feelings against this word - Albus made a mental note to figure this little mystery out later.

"Listen, guys, I am most definitely not telling you to stop messing with the other students. Heck, it's our _job_ to show them the power of a _true _wizard." They all laughed again, a few throwing some glares toward the Gryffindor table. "My only stipulation is: drop the word. Got it?" He looked each of them in the eye, threatening. Once he was sure that they all understood him, Flynn nodded and returned his focus to the front of the Great Hall.

"Are you really a Potter?" Someone from the other end of the table called out toward Albus, and the speaker received a smack to the back of his head. The other Slytherins, who had begun muttering amongst themselves after Flynn had finished his little speech, turned their focus onto Albus.

"Yah Avery, ya numbskull. Didn't ya hear Lupin call out his name? An' look at him; he's got those green eyes, anyway."

Albus recognized the name 'Avery', but he didn't know either of the two boys. He willed away the embarrassed blush that was threatening to appear. Just like his father, he'd had numerous witches and wizards of the older generations tell him how he had 'those green eyes' of Lily Potter. Albus would never have the chance to meet his grandmother, but his father was very proud that Albus had inherited this aspect.

"Look, you guys, I…" He paused, gathering his wits as he spoke to the entire table, "I get this stuff everywhere I go. Now that everyone knows I'm Harry Potter's son, leave it alone. I'm not James. I don't like the attention." As he saw that everyone was paying him attention, his voice turned firm and confident. They all nodded, offered their agreements, and that was that. A few of them began ragging on James; complaining about his 'holier-than-thou' attitude and his pranks that he and his friends constantly pulled on them.

At first, Albus considered standing up for his brother, but then he remembered that this was now a House rivalry – the biggest one of the school. And he would now be against his older brother. As he thought more about it, a smile formed on his lips.

He would milk this for all that it was worth – and he would get back at his brother for all those years of teasing and pranks. With the help of his new, cunning friends, and his knowledge of his own brother, Gryffindor wouldn't know what hit them.

Malfoy seemed to know what he was thinking, and grinned at him.

"This'll be a fun year, won't it," It wasn't a question, and Albus smiled back. Malfoy grinned and high-fived Zabini as Albus turned to watch the last First Year get sorted.

"Sullivan, Maura!" By now, everyone was impatient for the Welcoming Feast, and the chatter of the students almost drowned out the rather immediate response from the hat,

"SLYTHERIN!" Albus clapped along with everyone else as the girl walked toward their table with a grin. It seemed that she'd wanted to be in Slytherin. She had sharp features and pitch-black hair, already looking the stereotypical witch that the Muggles wrote stories about.

As Professor Lupin took the hat and disappeared through a door that was behind the Head Table, the Headmistress stood to make her speech.

"That's Professor McGonagall," Flynn, who had moved seats to be nearer all the First Years, whispered to them, "She's been Headmistress since the Last Great War. She used to be Head of Gryffindor House, which is why she's so different toward us. I know she tries not to be, but back then… Pretty much all the Slytherins were bad, back then. Except one, of course – but I'll tell you guys about that once we get back into the Common Room. Anyway, you make sure you _always _call her either Headmistress, or Professor McGonagall. Nothing else. We have to prove to her that we respect her – that way maybe she'll learn to respect us," Flynn's eyes got a dark look to them here, as if he were recalling an unpleasant memory. "It's harder than raising a Blast-Ended Skrewt to get away with anything these days. She's strict, but if I'm honest, she's generally fair…"

"Except when it comes to us, of course," Avery injected.

"Exactly what I was getting at." Flynn narrowed his eyes, but continued, "If we can prove to her that we can be respectable, maybe she'll back off of us a little bit." The handful of First Years stared at him warily, unsure of what he was getting at.

His grin in response slightly worried Albus, but the others relaxed at it. "And then, we'll be able to _really _continue the tradition of the Slytherin House." Malfoy looked immensely pleased at this.

"My father once told me something that his father told him. 'Admit nothing, deny everything, and make counterarguments'." Malfoy told them, and added with a scowl, "I think he stole it from some Muggle slogan or something." Flynn gave him an appraising look.

"Muggle or not… that's good. I think I'll use that." He paused, glancing up at the Head Table. "I'll tell the rest about it when we get to the common room. Though," He continued with a sharp look at them, "I'd keep quiet about the Muggle thing." Albus found his grin rather frightening. "It's ours now." As Flynn nodded to them and stood to return to his seat, Malfoy looked even more pleased with himself than he had previously.

"Alright, I won't keep you away from what you've really got your minds on any longer! Eat up!" The Headmistress finally finished her welcoming speech. With a smile, she clapped her hands and then returned to her seat behind the Head Table.

Albus looked at his empty plate, grinning as he watched piles and piles of all kinds of food cover whatever empty space there had been on the table. As everyone began to dig in enthusiastically, he glanced toward his brother, who gave him a quick thumbs up.

There was certainly one thing James had been right about – Albus was going to love being at Hogwarts.

* * *

**I decided to write this after having a dream about Albus meeting Snape's portrait. I usually write fics that involve a living, breathing, Snape, and I've never considered Albus Potter either - so this is a completely brand new experience for me! T****his is my first fanfiction that I've written with the intent to post... so I readily welcome constructive criticism!**


	2. More Than One Surprise

**Disclaimer: I am, most unfortunately, not J.K. Rowling... so if you recognize something, it's not mine.**

**A/N: I decided to cut chapter one into two parts. Since I'm not planning for this story to be very long, I wanted to keep the individual chapters a bit shorter.**

* * *

**_Then There Were Two_**

**Chapter 2  
**

Albus shook himself out of his reverie of the day before as he took his last bite of dessert. His plate cleared itself; now sparkly clean, and he grabbed his bag as he stood. He nodded silently toward those who caught his eye, and Malfoy gave him a "good luck!" as he slung the bag over his shoulder. He half-grinned in a gesture of thanks and walked out, aware that at least half of the Gryffindor table were jeering at him.

"A Slytherin in trouble already! No surprise there!"

"Hey Flynn! Training them early, I see!"

"Looks like you need to do a better job!"

Albus ignored all of them, knowing they would get theirs in turn. As he'd been told the day before, Slytherins took care of their own.

Yesterday, Flynn had shown them a few things on their way to the dungeons, including where the Headmistress' Office was located, so he didn't have a problem finding his way there. He repeated the password to the stone gargoyle that guarded the door, taking his time ascending the stairs. He went over his entire day, wondering if he'd done something wrong and just didn't realize it. He still couldn't think of anything. He'd even been praised by Professor Slughorn in his Potions class! Then again, Slughorn was the Head of Slytherin, so maybe he always made sure to give praise to students of his House.

Reaching the door, he smoothed out his robes and knocked with assurance that he didn't feel.

"Enter!" The strong, Scottish voice called through the doors, and he pushed them open, expecting them to be heavier than they were. One of them slammed against the wall, and he flinched.

"My, my," Came the amused voice of the Headmistress, and he walked toward her desk a little timidly, worried that she might think he did that on purpose. "You even enter the room like your namesake." She sounded rather amused, and as he took in her facial features, he realized she was trying to hold back a smile.

A few chuckles echoed around the room, and he startled, his eyes darting around. The Headmistress chuckled as well, standing up and stepping toward the paintings that hung behind her desk.

"Ah, yes, I suppose I should have warned you that we wouldn't be alone. I assume that you are aware by now that the portraits in Hogwarts are not stationary?" Her tone sounded rather stiff, and he had to remind himself that this was her regular demeanor.

"Yes, Ma'am. These are the previous Headmasters of the school." He told her, and at her raised eyebrow he added, "I read about it. In _'Hogwarts: A History'_." She looked amused yet again, and he was perplexed.

"Let me guess… a parting gift from your Aunt?" The Headmistress asked him as she slowly walked past all the portraits, toward him.

"Insufferable – "

"Severus!" She interrupted a deep, scowling voice coming from one of the portraits, and she continued before a startled Albus could respond, "Albus, your father would like to speak to you." By this point she was standing just in front of him, and she placed her hand on his shoulder, as if in encouragement. He raised his eyebrow slightly, deciding to ask her later why she would call him by his middle name.

"Am I in trouble?" He asked, more curious than worried. He noticed a strange glint pass through her eyes before she answered.

"No, most certainly not. He simply wants to know how your first day has gone, and he's much too impatient to await your owl." Here she sighed, but without any distaste.

The same portrait began to speak again, but she cleared her throat loudly and drowned him out.

"Come on, then. I'm sure you've spoken through Floo, before?" She asked as she turned him toward the giant fireplace on the other side of the room. He nodded as he followed her toward it. "Okay. Just wait here, then. He'll appear any minute now. Be aware that I am only allowing this just this once. From now on he can just wait for the owls just like the rest of us." She went back to her desk to give them some privacy.

Albus thought he could hear her conversing with some of the portraits, but they were speaking so lowly he couldn't understand their words.

The crackling fire sparked suddenly, and Albus smiled when his father's head appeared in the flames.

"Albus! Tell me how it went!" Harry sounded awfully excited, and Albus decided to tell him about his day before he spoke of the Sorting.

Even though he knew his father had taken the exact same classes years ago, Harry listened attentively as Albus told him about History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration. Tomorrow he would take Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology. The rest of the week would then be a continuation of that schedule, with Astronomy every Friday starting at midnight.

"And in Potions today, I was in a hurry so I forgot my book," He continued with excitement, deciding to ignore the warning look his father gave him, "And Professor Slughorn said that he'd ignore it just this once, and let me use one of the books in the back, and you wouldn't _guess_what book I used!" He rarely ever talked this much at once, and Harry knew that his son really enjoyed that class. Harry sighed, grinning.

"Oh, I can imagine…" He teased, raising his eyebrows. "It's still there, then? I would've guessed that Professor Snape destroyed it, or hid it so no one else could use it like I had."

Albus shrugged, shaking his head. He'd completely forgotten it wasn't just he and his father in the room.

"I don't know. But I was surprised too, because we've all got the new updated Potions books now. So after class I asked Professor Slughorn why he had one of the old ones on the shelf, and one that was so torn up at that."

Here, Albus opened his bag and gently pulled out the book, setting it down on the floor beside of him so his father could see. "He kind of got this weird look on his face, and told me that he would always keep this one. He said it was special, though he didn't tell me why." With a look of curiosity that rivaled one of Hermione's, he opened the front cover. "He told me I could use it. Said that no one else could see it, though."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Albus continued quickly, "Who's the Half-Blood Prince?"

There was a moment of silence; even the other portraits were silent now. Only the crackling of the fire could be heard.

"Well, son, I think that's something the Prince himself will have to tell you." His father told him, with a strange look on his face, and he seemed to be looking out past Albus. "So tell me, how did sorting go? I see that you're wearing Slytherin…"

Oh. Albus had completely forgotten that they had all been outfitted with House patches and colors on their clothing. He bit his lip, looking down at his hands. He was wringing them nervously, and scowled at himself, sitting on them to still them.

"Are you disappointed, father?" He asked quietly, but in the silence of the room, he knew everyone had heard the question anyway. "James told me that you'd be disappointed."

Harry frowned at this and shook his head.

"Albus Severus Potter. Do you remember what I told you in the train station?" He asked his son firmly. There had been a smattering of gasps amongst the portraits, and Albus could hear them all speaking with one another again. He pushed their voices away and nodded solemnly to his father.

"Yes. You told me I was named after two Headmasters…" Albus trailed off, now remembering that he wasn't alone with his father. Portraits or not, he didn't really want anyone else knowing that his father had to have given him a pep talk before he would get on the train.

"What else did I say?" Harry urged, a bit more softly.

"That one of them was a Slytherin," Here the portraits quieted again, "And he was the bravest man you ever knew."

"Exactly." Harry nodded with a smile. "Albus, there is nothing wrong with being a Slytherin. It does not automatically mean that you are a bad person."

"Because there was one who wasn't." Albus said, recalling what the First Years had been told last night by Flynn. Harry nodded again.

"Exactly," He repeated. "And you can assure the world that he won't be the last." Albus smiled, relaxed, pleased that his father was not angry with him.

There was a scoffing noise from one of the portraits, but the Headmistress cleared her throat in a warning manner, and it stayed quiet.

"Actually… they're not all that bad. The Head Boy, he keeps us in line. I mean, we're far from _Gryffindors_," Albus said this word with spite, but raised his eyebrows slightly so his father knew that he was only joking. _Mostly,_he added as an afterthought. "And he completely threatened to hex our…well, he threatened us pretty bad against using the word for Muggle-borns. You know, the one that Aunt Hermione hates?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes…I know the one. That's good, Albus. That's very good. I'm happy that you're finding your place in Hogwarts." Albus grinned and his father continued, "Now it's time you've headed back to your room. I don't want to keep you past curfew." Albus nodded, slinging his bag over his shoulder and grabbing the Potions book. "Oh, and Albus?"

As he stood, he raised his eyebrow toward his father in question.

"Give James hell." His father grinned and disappeared with a crackle from the flames. Albus smiled and turned toward the Headmistress, who looked both amused and surprised at the same time.

"Dad knows how James always teases me about stuff. That's just his way of telling me to stick up for myself," Albus explained as he stepped toward her desk, thinking she was surprised at Harry's choice of words.

"I was told that the Boy-Who-Lived was almost in Slytherin…" one of the older portraits muttered, and another one exclaimed,

"A _Potter _boy? In Slytherin? Impossible!"

"Phineas! Calm yourself. You know that the hat never makes mistakes." McGonagall admonished the latter portrait.

"I've always said that the hat sorts too soon, though…"

"_Albus_…" Minerva groaned and pinched the bridge of her noise with her fingers.

"Yes?" Both Albus' answered at the same time, causing a few of the other previously silent portraits to chuckle. Minerva did as well, and sighed, looking once more to the young boy.

"Well, _young _Albus, your father was right. Get you to bed before Filch decides to make a meal out of you." She told him, gesturing toward the door. Albus took a step back, but stopped with one of the portraits spoke again.

"Albus…_Severus_…Potter?" He asked, and Albus nodded toward him. There was a moment where they simply looked at one another, and then the Headmistress stood suddenly and moved toward a doorway that was near the fireplace.

"I'll leave you some privacy. You have five minutes." She said before she disappeared. Albus, confused, stepped hesitantly toward the portrait on the end.

The painted man appeared much younger than the others, and rather stern, as well. He was sitting in a comfortable looking chair, and there seemed to be a Potions room painted in the background. He was wearing all black, and had long black hair that reached his shoulders, partially covering his face.

_He must be one of those that governed during the Battle…I remember learning that those had been very dark times for Hogwarts, and he certainly looks menacing enough.  
_  
"Yes Sir." Albus said aloud, looking at the man curiously. He seemed to be very surprised.

"Well, well. This is the first time I've ever seen you thrown for a loop, Snape." One of the other portraits laughed, and the one in front of Albus – _Snape_– snarled, scowling. Albus thought that he looked more natural that way.

"So he survived then. Your father." Snape said to Albus, sounding as if he didn't really care. Albus nodded, surprised as well.

"Yes Sir. You haven't heard?"

"One learns to …distrust rumors." The dark man replied dryly, and Albus nodded in understanding. This seemed to surprise the man again, and he looked at Albus for a few more moments in silence. Uncomfortable under the scrutiny, Albus' eyes trailed away, and he noticed the nameplate on the bottom frame of the portrait. He quickly looked back up to the man's face.

"You're – !"

"Indeed." Severus Snape nodded, once again speaking as if it were nothing important. Albus turned red, taking a step back.

"I…_Merlin_!" He exclaimed, now eyeing the portrait in earnest. He'd met Dumbledore's portrait ages ago – one hung in the hall at the Potter's house – but his other namesake had always been a mystery to him. Both his father and Dumbledore wouldn't tell him much, and all he knew from _'Hogwarts: A History' _was that he was a double-agent/spy who was very valuable in the winning of the war.

Snape raised his eyebrow, surprised at the tone of reverence in the boy's words.

"It's an _honor_, Sir!" Albus said, still looking awed, which made Snape very uncomfortable.

"_Honor? _Ha! That's rich!" Phineas guffawed, and Dumbledore shushed him.

"I hardly think that – " Snape began, but Albus, who realized that Snape did not much like admissions of praise, interrupted him.

"You're the only reason I don't mind being in Slytherin!" The painted man raised his eyebrow in disbelief, and Albus hurriedly continued, "I mean, maybe not the _only _reason... Just the main one. They actually don't seem all that bad. Flynn, our Head Boy, he's really cool. And most of them don't seem to hold the pure-blood prejudice that their parents do. The older kids are still annoyed that Flynn won't let them speak about Muggle-borns, but other than that, they're a lot of fun."

There was silence again as Snape took in his words. Albus was unsure whether he was about to be rebuked or not. He wasn't much of a talker, unless it was about something that he found really interesting. Then, he couldn't seem to shut himself up. It was one of his least favorite traits about himself, and he was working on fixing it.

"There will always be the dunderheads." The portrait conceded, perhaps sounding slightly disappointed by the fact, but Albus wasn't sure with the monotone level of his voice.

"I wasn't entirely honest with my dad… Flynn doesn't have very many of us with him. Most of them don't speak up either way, and only a handful of us agreed that the racism was just _stupid_. I mean, most of us aren't even truly pure-blooded anyway. I think Malfoy's the closest; and even _he _has a Muggle in his lineage somewhere." Albus explained, and added, "We looked it up last night out of curiosity. It wasn't even that hard to find."

"Malfoy?" Snape raised an eyebrow, and Albus realized that his own facial expressions were not unlike his namesakes. "He's still alive then, I take it." Unlike with the knowledge of Harry being alive and well, Snape sounded rather pleased with this.

"If you mean Scorpius' father, Draco, then yeah, he's alive. He and my dad talk sometimes once or twice a year, but I've never met any of the family until I came here." Snape seemed to smirk at this information, and this appeared to be the first thing Albus had said that didn't surprise him in the slightest.

"Not surprising." He muttered, and some of the other 'younger' portraits chuckled, including Dumbledore.

"Young man, I believe you should be getting to bed now." The older wizard advised gently, and Albus nodded, his excited features dimming now. He rather enjoyed talking with his namesake, even if the man didn't talk back all that much.

"You're right. I have Charms first thing and if Aunt Hermione finds out I've slacked in that class, she'll hex my… well, she'll not be very happy with me." Albus said, earning a good-hearted chuckle from Dumbledore, and what appeared to be annoyance from Snape. His range of reactions perplexed Albus, and he was curious to find out why. As he stood and took a step toward the door, he considered asking Malfoy what he knew about the man.

"Wait." The quiet voice stopped him, and he turned back around to face the portraits. "You like Potions class?" Snape asked him, and he nodded, smiling again as he gripped the book tighter in his hand.

"Yes Sir, I do. Very much." Albus agreed, and the man blinked and nodded.

"You're better at it than your father was, then?" Albus smirked at the question.

"He and Mum both don't really know where I get it from. She wasn't horrible at it like he was, but they both agree that I didn't get it from either of them." Snape stood up at this, and gestured for the boy to come back over.

"I've helped James on his summer homework…that's how we found out, anyway." Albus added with a bit of embarrassment. As large as his rivalry was with his older brother, he still didn't want to get him into trouble over the terms of cheating on one's homework.

When he stood in his previous place in front of Snape's portrait, the man indicated that he step closer.

"I want to see," Albus was fairly certain he wasn't supposed to hear Snape's whisper, so he didn't respond and simply stepped closer to the portrait, looking into Snape's eyes that were almost as black as his clothing. Albus was surprised to see the light behind them; as if the portrait were indeed a living person… he knew what kind of power was behind these kinds of portraits, but it still astounded him.

"Of course." Snape, who'd been leaning forward, stood straight and clasped his hands behind his back. He looked as if he were fighting with himself; half pleased and half irritated at the same time, though Albus wasn't sure as to what. "Your grandmother was excellent at Potions." Albus' eyebrows lifted up in surprise.

"She was? You knew my grandmother?" He asked, curiosity lighting up his face once more. Snape got a strange look on his face.

"You remind me of her. And yet," He frowned slightly, "You also remind me of a previous student of mine." Dumbledore laughed, which confused Albus all the more.

Snape sighed after giving a sharp look to the portrait next to him. "Yes I knew your grandmother, no I will not talk about it, so you might as well keep your mouth shut."

Albus, who had been about to ask another question, pressed his lips together. There was yet another moment of silence before Snape continued, "Perhaps… you would ask Professor McGonagall to visit again." It seemed the man in the portrait was still very curious as well, and doing his best to hide it.

Albus grinned and nodded, turning as just then the woman in question had stepped back into the room.

"Your time has passed, Albus. Get going." She said not unkindly as she made her way to her desk, eyeing the portrait of Snape suspiciously. The man gave her a haughty look and sat back down in his chair.

Albus walked to the door before turning back around.

"Headmistress?"

"Yes, child?" She sounded tired.

"May I… when it's convenient, rather… may I come back?" He asked, with a hopeful glance toward Snape's portrait. The man simply blinked, but Albus was certain that he was just as interested to see him again. McGonagall, however, looked quite surprised.

"Why, certainly… though, perhaps you should ask Professor Slughorn about the empty frame in his classroom. I can't have you barreling in here all the time." She spoke to Albus, but she was now looking at Snape, who scoffed and looked away from her. Albus, who was rather like his Aunt Hermione (even though they weren't _actually _related), could read into things, and he nodded without question, opening the door.

"Mr. Potter," The man called across the room, and the boy stopped again. "The … honor… is mine." Though he struggled to say it, it wasn't because he didn't mean it, and Albus turned back toward the room in surprise. The man in black simply stood, bowed to him, and then moved further back into the portrait. When Albus noticed the look of shock on the Headmistress' face, he grinned to himself and slipped out of the room, shutting the door silently behind him.

* * *

**A/N: Wow! This bit became a lot longer than planned...**

**Should I continue with this, or leave it open as it is?**

**I tried to keep Snape as in character as possible, but I found that to be rather difficult, since he is now a portrait. He is no longer a spy, he's not forced to follow orders from anyone, and he doesn't have to fight for his life against both sides of the war. Suddenly, he has all this freedom from the stress and pain he's been dealing with for years, but I'm not sure how to express that and still keep it believable. He is, as Albus finds, "a dark man", and he will always be snarky. But is he now allowed to show a bit of humanity?**

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated!**


	3. And So It Begins

**Disclaimer: I am, most unfortunately, not J.K. Rowling... so if you recognize something, it's not mine.**

**A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews! I realized that the flashback moment in chapter one was a little confusing (thanks for the tip on that!); my indication must have been lost in the coding. I fixed it, and I'll make sure to be clearer in the future. :)**

**Here's the next bit. :) **

* * *

**_Then There Were Two_  
**

**Chapter 3  
**

Scorpius was lounging on one of the couches when Albus made it back to the common room. The blonde boy lowered the book he was reading for a moment, 'hmphd' derisively when he saw that it was Albus, and went back to reading. Albus rolled his eyes, but didn't respond as he set his bag down, settling himself into the chair across from his friend.

"So. I see we haven't lost any points," Malfoy said from behind his potions book, and Albus glanced toward the emerald-filled hourglass.

"No," he agreed, "my dad just wanted to talk to me." He opened up his own potions book, studying the inscription on the inside cover.

"Couldn't send you a letter?" Malfoy scoffed, amusement etched in his voice. Albus frowned, but once again chose not to immediately respond to the barb. _Maybe 'friend' was too nice a word to use for Malfoy._

"McGonagall mentioned something along those lines as well." Albus replied dryly, earning a smirk from Malfoy. They studied together in comfortable silence for a while, until the other two First Years came barging through the doors to the common room, laughing loudly. Malfoy sighed loud enough to be heard over their laughter, and shut his potions book with a snap.

"Eric, Maura," Malfoy greeted them, and they calmed down enough to return the greeting. He straightened himself on the couch and moved to the end, so the other two could join him. "Getting into trouble already, are we?" Malfoy sounded rather delighted about this. Maura grinned at him arrogantly.

"Course not. It's not like we got caught, or anything," She laughed again, and high-fived Eric as she sat down between the two boys.

"After we finished studying in the library, we … _overheard_," Eric winked at his cohort, "a group of Fourth Year Gryffindors. They sounded a little _too happy_ about something, if you catch my drift." Malfoy frowned.

"Ragging on us about the upcoming match already, are they? Hmph, we'll see about that. We've got a great Quidditch team this year." Malfoy had been in the common room since dinner ended, so he had overheard Flynn's discussion with the team captain. Maura shook her head.

"No, Malfoy, not Quidditch." She glanced at Albus, who raised his eyebrow.

"What?" He asked suspiciously, closing his book and setting it on his knee.

"It was your brother." She said directly, "And he was talking about you." All three of them looked at Albus; Malfoy with a confused look on his face, and the other two expectantly. Albus pinched his lips together, leaning his head back against the chair.

This was nothing new. Ever since they were young, James would make fun of Albus constantly. At first, it was the usual sibling rivalry – stealing toys, and blaming the younger boy when something was broken or a mess was made. Then he began teasing Albus for his "strange name", and after James' first year at Hogwarts, the name teasing quickly increased. James had met the portrait of Severus Snape within the first two weeks of school, but not for the innocent reasons that Albus had. Apparently, James had been caught chasing Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, down the hallway one evening after dinner. Filch thought that this was worth a trip to the Headmistress' Office, though she had let James go with only a warning.

One of the portraits, however, had a different opinion of what James' punishment should have been, and made sure that James was very aware of it. Needless to say, from the story that the boy had told the Potter family that summer afterward, he and this portrait were not on good terms whatsoever. Since then, Albus had to deal with his older brother's condescending whispers about "Severus" this and "Severus" that, every time the two of them were out of earshot from the adults.

Albus groaned under his breath, clenching his fists. Pushing the memory away, he lifted his head from the back of the chair and looked at his friends.

"Well? What was he saying?" He asked them. "I'm sure it's nothing I haven't heard before."

"I don't know, exactly," Maura admitted with a glance to Eric, "Something about your name, and that it was no surprise that you ended up Slytherin. Said you were _strange_, and by that point Eric and I had already… well," Her apologetic look turned into something more of a sadistic glint, and Eric grinned at her.

"It's just a little trick my father taught me over the summer." He visibly puffed up under Malfoy's admiring look, "He told me to use it if anybody was 'acting out of line'." Eric smiled at Albus, as if he expected him to be thankful. Albus, however, had to admit that he was a little worried for his older brother. Gryffindor jerk or not, they were brothers before they were rivals.

"He covered 'em all in these giant, pimple looking things. Spread completely across their faces – it was hilarious!" Maura laughed again and Eric shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, lounging back against the couch.

"Looks like we got the first hit in the game already. Good job," Malfoy told the two next to him, impressed. Albus couldn't help but smirk in agreement – it didn't sound like a curse that was that bad, and the image it gave him was certainly very humorous.

"Yeah," He finally agreed, "Thanks guys." He made sure he didn't sound _too_ thankful. He didn't want them thinking he couldn't take care of himself, especially when it came to dealing with his own brother. He relaxed and twisted in the chair, so his head rested on one of the armrests and his legs hung off the other side. He fingered the pages of his potions book, but he didn't open it.

"Hey, Potter…" Eric trailed off, and Albus raised his eyebrow toward him. "Is your middle name _really_ Severus?" He asked, skeptical. Malfoy looked at Albus sharply.

"Severus?" The blonde boy leaned forward, toward him, "What?" Albus furrowed his brows at the seriousness of the other boy.

"Yeah," He admitted in a resigned manner, "It is." He paused, and they were silent. "What of it?" He snapped, thinking they would start mocking him as well. They all looked surprised, but they didn't look appear as if they were about to start laughing, so he warily relaxed.

"You heard Flynn's story last night. Severus Snape was one of the greatest Slytherins that ever lived." Eric sounded awed, and Malfoy's already present frown deepened.

"There've been _other_ great Slytherins." He muttered under his breath, but they all knew that the Malfoy family had had a bit of a copout, and nobody acknowledged his comment. "Anyway," He cleared his throat and inched forward in his seat, "Snape was friends with my grandfather. He was my father's godfather, as well. He's practically family to us." Albus sat up in interest, facing Malfoy.

"So then you do know something about him?" Albus asked, and Malfoy chuckled sarcastically.

"Maybe one or two things. We've got a portrait frame in our hall for him. Of course, he's hardly ever there," Malfoy spoke as if there was no lost love between them, "But my grandfather knew him back when they were at Hogwarts. And of course, they … _worked_ together…"

"Death Eaters," Albus stated, and a sharp glint passed through Malfoy's eye.

"Unfortunately. But the way Grandfather talks about him …" Again, Malfoy looked immensely impressed, but not toward any of the Slytherins sitting around him, "He'd had no clue. That Snape was a spy, I mean. Grandfather thought that he'd been a Death Eater until the end." After a moment he added with amusement, "Dad used to tell me all the time about Grandfather's reaction to Potter's words at the hearing – your father's words, rather, Albus. Says he almost fell out of his seat." All four of them grinned in amusement, having known the steely personality of Lucius Malfoy in one way or another.

"So let me get this straight," Malfoy's voice was suddenly sharp and authoritative, "your own brother is mocking you for this?" Albus silently nodded under the demand for an answer. Malfoy scowled and threw himself back into the couch cushions. "Merlin, no wonder he's in Gryffindor." He stared at Albus intently. "This isn't only against you anymore, you know. You're one of us now. And Snape was one of us too – "

"And we take care of our own," Maura finished, with a grin toward both of them. Eric nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Yeah. He's now picking a fight with all of us. So it's safe to assume that you're all thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked Maura and Malfoy, who both nodded with smirks on their faces. Albus raised his eyebrow again.

"I think it's time you told us about your older brother, Potter," Malfoy said slyly, and Albus grinned back.

* * *

**A/N: There's nothing like gaining new friends over the planning a few good pranks. ;) Looks like James Potter had better start watching his back…**

**Apologies that this one's a bit short – I felt that some background was needed for Al's friendship with the other Slytherins, and to establish his brother/rival relationship with James.**

**I love reviews! :D**


	4. History Repeats Itself

**Disclaimer: I am, most unfortunately, not J.K. Rowling... so if you recognize something, it's not mine.**

**A/N: This update took much longer than I first planned…These past few weeks have been crazy. Apologies!**

**Thanks so much to everyone who have reviewed! You continue to be a great help!  
**

* * *

**_Then There Were Two_  
**

**Chapter 4  
**

"Mister Potter," The Headmistress sighed as Filch pushed Albus into the chair across from her desk. Albus glared at the caretaker, shoving the man's hand off of his shoulder and straightening his robes with a jerk.

"Headmistress," Albus replied tightly.

"Thank you Filch, that will be all." McGonagall said sternly to the older man, who had made no appearance that he would leave after distributing the boy. He looked disappointed, but after giving Albus a smug look, he left the room. McGonagall returned her tired gaze toward Albus, and he stared silently back.

"Well?" She demanded, her eyebrow arching. Albus merely blinked, which flustered her even more. "Merlin's sake, you've been here for five months and you're already as bad as the rest of them." She complained, pinching the bridge of her nose and frowning deeply.

"Hardly," Albus scoffed, which earned him another steely look from the Headmistress, "This is the first I've been called to your office – _unlike_ the rest of them." He spoke with disappointment, which irked her all the more.

"This is the first you've been _caught_," She corrected him sternly, pointing her finger at him, "This will not do, Mister Potter. I know very well that you've had a hand in all of these _projects_ of yours, and I'm telling you right now that Hogwarts _does not stand_ for bullying!"

There was a loud scoff from the portrait nearest her right. Albus smirked, and her frown deepened even more.

"Severus Snape, you stay out of this," She hissed, knowing that he'd had some sort of position in the whole matter. Snape scowled, folding his arms across his chest, but McGonagall ignored him and returned her attention to Albus. "Filch told me that he caught you using an unknown spell on a Gryffindor. Luckily for _you_, it seems that it wasn't very harmful."

"As if _Filch_ would know – "

"_Hold your tongue_, young man," McGonagall warned, and Albus closed his mouth tightly, "Tell me which spell you used."

"Like you said, it wasn't harmful, so I don't see why – "

"_Tell me_ which spell you used!" She ordered, and Albus huffed,

"Levicorpus," He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back into the chair, glaring at the desk in front of him.

What could only be described as a guffaw ensued from the portrait of Severus Snape, and McGonagall raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"What is that? And I don't see what's so funny about this!" She grouched, frustrated. "Of course the only time the man would ever be heard laughing would be at the expense of a Gryffindor," She muttered under her breath, and then said to the portrait, "So I see that you know this spell, do you?"

"Of course." The man said simply, as if he hadn't just burst out in laughter. Albus willed himself not to smirk again.

There was a long silence, and the Headmistress groaned again when neither of them spoke another word.

"I'm curious as to why you, a First Year, have a copy of the Advanced Potions book, Albus." Dumbledore's portrait spoke up; his random question confusing McGonagall. Albus furrowed his brow, also confused.

"It's the book Professor Slughorn gave me to use."

"The man was always a dimwitted fool," Snape snarked with a sigh, as if it was something that couldn't be helped. "Nevertheless, I fail to see what that has to do with –"

"Contrary to your belief, Severus, I am not required to listen to your opinion," McGonagall interrupted, nodding toward Albus, "However, Professor Dumbledore is correct. If memory serves me well, I seem to recall that your father once owned that book… and it caused him a lot of trouble as well."

"It's got all the potions in it that we're studying. I haven't had a problem." Albus insisted.

"Be that as it may, that book also has many other potions that children of your age should not be yet aware of. It is dangerous." McGonagall arched her brow threateningly. "Give it to me, Mr. Potter." She held her hand out over the desk, palm up, her voice barring no arguments.

Grumbling, Albus rifled through his bag and pulled out the offending book, setting it carefully in her hand. Angry or no, he always made sure to handle this particular book delicately – it was the oldest thing he owned, and it was already literally falling apart, even with the protective spells he cast over it.

The Headmistress flipped through the book rather quickly, searching for anything that stood out as Dark Magic. Dumbledore was leaning over in his portrait frame, as if reading over her shoulder.

"I don't detect anything Dark…" She said to herself, flipping back through the pages toward the front. She stopped suddenly, peering down at one of the pages. She adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose, and the room was silent. "_Severus Tobias Snape_." She growled, her anger penetrating everything in the room. Albus flinched back into his chair, averting his eyes. Her fury wasn't directed toward him exactly, but he felt sorry for his namesake. She sounded as if she were seriously considering hexing him… if hexing portraits were possible.

"Yes?" The man replied calmly, but Albus noticed him swallow hard. Even dead, Snape had a healthy fear of the Scottish woman.

"I have known you since you were _his_ age!" She stood, gesturing toward Albus as she neared the portrait, "I would recognize that spidery handwriting anywhere! How _dare _you! You've known all along that he would come across the things in this book, and you still let him carry on with it! _Creating_ _spells_, Severus? And writing them down in a textbook for all the world to see? Are you mad?" She glared up at the portrait, who glared right back.

"Yes, in fact. I was quite angry." He retorted, knowing full well that hadn't been the 'mad' she'd been referring to. She scoffed, turning to face Albus.

"You will serve a week's worth of detention with Mr. Filch, every evening after dinner." She informed the boy, and held her hand up to silence him when he opened his mouth, "I will allow you to keep this book under _one_ condition." She paused until he assured her that he was listening. "I don't want to hear even a _rumor _that you've been using a spell other than those you've been taught in your classes. I don't even care if it's something your parents taught you years ago – if you didn't learn it in class, you do not have permission to use it. Got it?"

Albus nodded in defeat under her steely glare. After a moment's hesitation, she grudgingly held the book out to him.

"Don't make me regret this decision. This is your only reprieve," She threatened him, and he nodded as he packed the book away and stood. "You are dismissed." She waved him away as she was preparing a letter for Filch.

"But Professor – "

"You are _dismissed_, Mr. Potter." She growled, still refusing to look up from her parchment. Albus turned on his heel and silently left the room. After rolling up the parchment to prepare for sending, McGonagall began with a sigh, "Severus,"

But when she looked up, his portrait frame was empty.

**X**

Albus was pacing in Slughorn's Potions room, looking up every now and then to the empty frame hanging above the professor's desk.

"Well. It could have been worse," Finally, the dark haired man stepped into the frame, sitting into the chair with ease. He had only begun occupying this frame in the past month, and had been pleased to find that the painter had made this chair exactly like the one that he used in the Headmaster's Office.

Albus frowned, dropping his bag to the floor.

"Worse? Every night with Filch for a week! Ugh," Albus groaned, plopping himself into Slughorn's chair and turning to face the portrait.

Snape raised his eyebrow. Had that been his teaching desk, he would have never allowed a student to hold such liberties – but then again, when he wasn't teaching classes, Slughorn was always found in his private rooms drinking himself to a stupor. The man probably had no clue that Snape's portrait even adorned the wall above his desk.

"I admit, I am disappointed that you got yourself caught. As a Slytherin, you should have known better." Snape chided him, but he didn't sound nearly as livid as McGonagall had.

"Yes, but…" Albus ducked his head in agreement, but then an angry glint appeared in his eye, "They were making fun of a girl." Albus frowned, his fists clenching at the memory. Snape's eyebrow went up again.

"A girl?" Albus wasn't sure whether he sounded more surprised, annoyed, or disappointed, "Every man's downfall." Albus definitely detected hostility, but he didn't acknowledge it.

He'd learned not to ask about the things that made Snape hostile.

"I've seen her in the library. She's in there almost as much as I am." Albus explained, standing and pacing as he began to recall what had happened earlier that day.

"That's where they ran into her. We'd left the library – not together, mind you, just at the same time – and they practically pounced her as soon as she turned the corner. Started calling her names and the like, stuff that _I _usually get, and they knocked her books out of her arms." Albus' scowl darkened.

"You defended her?" Snape asked the younger boy, who looked up at him quickly.

"I … suppose so, yes. They just made me so angry – he was being such a prat and they all just stood there and watched!" Albus exclaimed, frustrated.

"How very Gryffindor of you." Snape sneered, and Albus folded his arms and glared at the man.

"Hardly," Albus spat, throwing himself back into the chair. "It was James," He continued a bit more calmly, but his tone was still very malicious, "I surprised them. Before they could do anything, I had him dangling up in the air by his foot. I told her to leave, and I planned on hexing those guys in place, so we could take care of them later. But by then Filch was there, yelling at me to put James down and all that."

"You assumed that you could handle a handful of wizards all on your own?" Snape mocked him, and Albus huffed in annoyance.

"Well, no, _obviously_ I should have been less _Gryffindor_ and made up a plan first." Albus snarked, not sounding unlike the man he was talking to. Snape smirked very slightly; Albus didn't notice. "Not to worry about that – I'll think of something." Albus promised.

"Were you not listening when Professor McGonagall ordered you to keep your nose clean?" Snape sneered at him, and he narrowed his eyes right back.

"She only said she didn't want to hear any rumors." Albus grinned, "I just won't get caught."

"Again." Snape reminded him, never one to say out loud that he was proud of this Slytherin. The boy, coming from a predominantly Gryffindor family, rightly struggled with some of his clashing characteristics – but he was becoming more and more Slytherin every day.

"You won't tell her, will you?" Albus asked after a moment, still unsure about where he stood with the man on the wall. Snape merely blinked, which Albus took as a positive sign, and he relaxed with a sigh. "I'm still deciding whether it was worth a week with Filch. Even though she and I have been friends for a while, I _know_ the guys are not going to let me live this one down…" Snape looked partly alarmed at the boy's admission.

"I was under the impression she was a fellow Slytherin…" The older man said carefully, and Albus laughed dryly, unaware at the man's cautiousness.

"Definitely not. We've only got one girl my age, and Maura would never let _anyone_ get away with treating her like that, much less someone like my _brother_. And I don't think any of the older girls are any different." Albus thinned his lips, sounding very disappointed when he muttered, "The girl from the library is a First Year Gryffindor."

There was such a long silence that Albus looked up to make sure Snape was still there. He looked very surprised, like when the two of them had first met.

"She's your friend?" He asked, his voice sounding almost strangled. Albus looked at the older man in confusion. He appeared to be struggling to contain his emotion – something that Albus had never seen before. Albus nodded slowly.

"I suppose so. We've known one another since birth. Though, we haven't talked much since coming here. The Sorting has made that kind of difficult, and she's scared of James." Albus admitted. She was pretty much the only thing he regretted about being a Slytherin.

"Forget about it." Albus was shocked at the sudden snarl from Snape, "She's not worth your time, no matter how long you've known her. People change, Potter, and _Gryffindors_ are not worth _befriending_." Snape ordered vehemently, his icy glare boring down on the boy.

After a moment, Albus nodded slowly. Very rarely did Snape ever show any emotion besides annoyance or indifference, and Albus knew that if this was something that caused that much of a reaction from his namesake, then it was advice worth listening to. Albus wouldn't give up on Rose Weasley quite just yet - they _had _grown up together, after all - but he would pay closer attention to their friendship from now on. He would just have to make sure not to talk about her around Snape anymore...

* * *

**A/N: Reviews are welcome!**

**Also - congrats to my fellow Slytherins for winning the House Cup on Pottermore! I admit I may be a little behind on the story because I'm brewing potions day and night... *sheepish grin***


	5. The Astronomy Tower

**Disclaimer: I am, most unfortunately, not J.K. Rowling... so if you recognize something, it's not mine.**

**A/N: Many, many apologies for how long I've taken with this update. The end of June and beginning of July were incredibly busy for me. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it – I'll be heading back to college in a couple weeks, and we all know what that means. Don't give up on me though! No matter how long I take between uploads, I will not be quitting on this story!**

**On the plus side, getting back into the swing of things should give me some good fodder for writing. :)**

**Thank you to A Pirate By Any Other Name, Awesomenessy, Captain Fenris, hpfanfictionreader, JavMac, kazetoame, MissFine1997, Rocia Mixan, Shadow82ABN, snapefan520, and Zireael07 for reviews!**

* * *

_**Then There Were Two**_

**Chapter 5**

"I don't believe you." Severus Snape insisted, folding his arms across his chest and lifting his chin in a very Malfoy-like manner. (Albus only noticed this because he had spent a part of the Christmas holidays with the Malfoy family – and Scorpius liked to follow his grandfather around, copying the older man's mannerisms.)

Albus shrugged in response, focusing once more on the pile of books and parchment in front of him. He had an essay due in Transfiguration at the start of next week, and he wanted to finish as much as possible before Astronomy class started in an hour. That would give him the entire weekend free… and he and Scorpius had an idea concerning a _project_ with James.

He was sitting in his usual seat in the front row of the classroom. He hadn't started the year in that seat, but after a roundabout suggestion from Snape, he moved closer so the painted man could observe his work during class.

At first, Albus was incredibly nervous. Potions were his favorite subject, and Snape was a whole different caliber than Professor Slughorn. Albus was worried that if he messed up even once, Snape would treat him like he had his father. While there have been a few moments of a spitefully spoken "Potter!" Snape ended up being quite helpful. He never spoke during class, of course, even when Professor Slughorn worked up the courage (or dimwittedness) to ask him a question, but Albus learned to read his silent signals. And more often than not, Albus would come to Snape with questions or concerns that Professor Slughorn hadn't been able to answer. Usually, Snape would only help Albus in researching the problem himself, but Albus didn't mind. Much like his Aunt, he found great satisfaction when he found the answer with his own research.

Unlike his Aunt, he wasn't very good with Transfiguration. _Perhaps I should make time this weekend to meet with her and see if she could help me out._ He could handle the essays just fine – they were mostly concerning what was studied in the book. When it came to the actual transformation of one thing to another, Albus was having some trouble. He wasn't as dismal as his Uncle Ron had been, but he was frustrated that this was the only class he was having problems in.

"Ah, Albus! Finished dinner already, have you?" Professor Slughorn's cheery voice alerted the boy to his presence.

"Yes Sir," Albus nodded, setting down his quill and looking up as the man went to his desk and began gathering papers. "I'm just finishing up this Transfiguration essay, and I'll be up to the Astronomy tower soon." Albus' Friday evenings were usually spent in this fashion, but he liked to make sure that he wasn't a bother to the Professor, even if the man had cheerily enough allowed him access to the room whenever he needed it.

"Not to worry! I'll be grading these in my office, to give you two some privacy." His eyes practically twinkled as he looked to the scowling portrait of Snape. He didn't appear fazed, and continued to Albus, "I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning, and she should be arriving at Hogwarts somewhere along that same time. I won't be back until next Saturday, and I've told her that I allow you to work in here from time to time." He spoke with a smile, and finished with a nod. "She did seem rather perturbed at that, but as this is _my_ classroom, she hardly had any room to argue," He said this last bit to himself as he turned toward the door to his office, mumbling as he fiddled with the door and disappeared behind it, shutting it again without a word of goodbye.

The room was silent again aside from the scratching of quill to parchment.

"I don't believe you," Snape repeated, except his groan told Albus that he had finally accepted the truth and that, yes, he did actually believe it.

"We needed someone to take over for the week. Who else is there?" Albus asked absentmindedly as he read over his last paragraph.

"In this day and age? Not enough," Snape admitted with a reserved sigh. "But she is not a Potions Master. How do they find her qualified?"

Albus neatly rolled up his finished essay and slid it into his bag, along with the unused paper and his quill and ink. As he marked his place in the textbook, he answered,

"No disrespect Sir, but really – you of all people should realize not to ask about her qualifications in pretty much anything." Albus pointed out with a raised eyebrow, and as an afterthought added, "Except perhaps Quidditch."

"True," Snape grudgingly admitted after a pause. Albus smirked as he added his books to the bag at his feet. "But," Snape continued, "Does she not work in the Ministry? There must be _someone_ with more time on their hands to fill in –"

"Sir," Albus interrupted cheekily, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you didn't want her to teach us."

"Whatever would give you that idea?" Snape muttered dryly, choosing to ignore that he'd been interrupted. "Magical Law Enforcement has nothing to do with Potions!" He insisted, refusing to let the argument end without some sort of win on his part. Albus rolled his eyes, making sure that Snape wouldn't notice. The man never liked it when Albus rolled his eyes at him.

"Do _you_ want to teach?" Albus retorted, raising his eyebrow.

"Absolutely not." Snape returned immediately, his words slightly sharp in response to Albus' tone.

"Alright then," Albus said lightly, nodding toward the portrait as he picked up his bag and stood, "She'll be here tomorrow morning." He slung the bag over his shoulder and stepped toward the door.

"I look forward to it." The portrait snarked, knowing he wouldn't get through the whole week without seeing her. She'd probably find a way to get to him anyway, if he did try to hide.

"You know," Albus said as he paused in the doorway, "For as much as you dislike her, you sure do know a lot about her." He wouldn't say he was _teasing_ the man, exactly… more like irking him. There was an art to aggravating Severus Snape, and done correctly, its reward was very amusing. Albus Dumbledore had been very good at it, and Albus Potter was well on his way to learning.

Snape scoffed, appearing slightly uncomfortable. He usually did, whenever one of 'The Golden Trio' were brought into conversation.

"I had the … _pleasure_… of teaching that insufferable know-it-all for six years. I do, most _unfortunately_, know entirely too much about her." Snape complained, and appeared to be thinking of an irritating memory. Albus laughed, which caused Snape to look at him sharply.

"Oh, I doubt that, Sir." Albus claimed, leaning against the door frame. Snape raised his eyebrow in a manner that Albus was still trying to perfect.

"Do you?" He asked quietly. Albus expected him to continue, but it was a few moments before he said, "You will meet me in here tomorrow after lunch. And," He looked to be disgusted with himself as he continued, "you will bring her with you."

"Is that such a good idea?" Albus asked hesitantly. Talking _about_ her was bad enough – how would he act when he was talking _to_ her? Snape scoffed.

"Of course not. We might as well get it over with, however. Sitting in the Headmistress' Office has taught me a number of things, and I have a few questions for her…" He trailed off in a slightly angry tone.

'_Uh oh,'_ Albus thought, _'what did she do, hex him or something?'_

"Okay," He agreed suspiciously, standing straight. "See you tomorrow, then,"

"Mister Potter," Snape called as Albus stepped into the hall, "Don't bother to ask her about her qualifications in Divination, either." The man sounded amused, and Albus rolled his eyes again as he shut the door.

"I'll just let him think he won that conversation," Albus muttered to himself, then chuckled. This put a slight wrench in his plans to meet with Scorpius, but he had a pretty good idea that it would be worth it.

In any case, Albus had the Invisibility Cloak that his father had given him as a parting gift.

It had been a secret from the others, of course, especially from James. Harry knew that James had nicked his magical map from the desk in his home office, but had chosen not to confront him. Instead, his last words to Albus had been "Make sure you check your trunk _thoroughly_ once you get settled – make sure you have everything." The only thing Albus had found strange was the wink his father had given him, but as soon as he had felt the fabric at the bottom of the trunk, he'd known exactly what it was.

Scorpius and Rose were the only others who knew that Albus had the cloak. He didn't trust the other Slytherins not to steal it - in fact; he hadn't trusted Scorpius entirely on that note either. Albus had managed to get Snape to teach him a powerful protection spell that would let him know if someone managed to take the cloak, and it would tell him who that person was, as well.

Snape had wondered what Albus wanted to protect so dearly, but then he decided that considering the boy was a Potter, it was probably best not to ask.

Albus knew that James would still be able to see him on the Marauder's Map even under the cloak, but as long as his brother wasn't expecting him, that wouldn't be a problem.

"Albus! Where've you been? We're almost late!" Scorpius, who was waiting in the hall at the front of the staircase, interrupted Albus' thoughts.

"Almost being the key word." Albus replied, and Malfoy rolled his eyes and lightly punched his shoulder.

"Cheeky. C'mon, before Professor Sinistra takes off points. It's been a month since you last got points taken away from us – let's try to keep that record going, eh?" Malfoy threw his arm around his friend's neck, playfully roughhousing with him as they raced one another up the stairway.

"You call _me_ cheeky!" Albus retorted, laughing, as he pushed Malfoy away from him. They both calmed down a bit before they joined the rest of the class at the top of the tower. Professor Sinistra was pretty strict, and she wasn't against handing out extra homework to students who she thought weren't paying attention.

They were the last two to show, but luckily made it with two minutes to spare. The professor gave them both a raised eyebrow, but said nothing as they set their bags down out of the way. Maura, who was already opening up her star chart with the help of Eric, greeted them both with a wide grin and a knowing look in her eye.

She thought they were almost late because they had been causing trouble. Albus shook his head lightly, tapping his wrist with two fingers. It was their sign that they would meet up and discuss their _project_ after class. She nodded and nudged Eric with her elbow, whispering under her breath that they would all meet up later. He simply looked at Malfoy, nodded, and returned his gaze back to the star chart.

Albus caught Rose's eye as he followed Malfoy to the other Slytherins, and she offered him a small smile. He was the only one that noticed it, and he smiled in return. His cousin had the brains of her mother, and as such, she was merely tolerated by most of the other classmates. Malfoy had a bit of a rivalry with her when it came to grades, but they didn't share the hatred of one another like their parents had.

Rose was the only person aside from Harry that knew of Albus' dislike of the Astronomy tower. Albus wasn't even entirely sure of the reason, himself. He didn't have a fear of heights – he'd been flying on a broom almost as long as he'd been walking on two feet. It wasn't the darkness, either. Albus enjoyed the dark, honestly. It was quiet, and one could easily hide in it.

*****Flashback*****

The first time he had been in the tower, it was their first Astronomy lesson, and the professor was going over their tools and equipment. They hadn't even begun to study the skies yet when Albus felt the nervous feeling in his stomach increase suddenly, and the world tilted on its side. They were all startled by the thump when he had passed out, and Professor Sinistra had Rose help him to the hospital wing see Madame Pomfrey. He had only been half-aware of things during their walk, and didn't realize until later that he had told Rose everything that he had felt since stepping up that staircase.

She hadn't understood, but she'd relayed the information to the school nurse. Madame Pomfrey, who had appeared to know at least something of the issue, had warily called upon Harry Potter via Floo, and rightly suggested that Albus be the one to explain what had happened. Albus, who didn't really understand what the big deal was, told his father how nervous he had been as he ascended the stairs into the tower. At the time, he had assumed it was simply because this was the first day of the class. Harry, however, had gotten a look on his face that Albus only saw when his father was thinking about the war. When Albus questioned him on it, Harry asked that he speak with Madame Pomfrey, and Albus was sent back to the bed to rest.

Albus only overheard pieces of their conversation – apparently his father was trying to find a way for his son to be removed from the class. _'But why would Dad do that? I was looking forward to Astronomy…'_ Albus was never told why his father had reacted so strongly, for Madame Pomfrey had finally persuaded him that she could not and would not do such a thing, as there were no real grounds, and that 'the boy only appears to show symptoms of extreme nervousness…there's nothing wrong with that…perhaps it's a phobia of heights….'

Albus was given a Calming Draught and sent to his rooms, and Rose back to class. She promised to get Malfoy to bring his bag to him later, and gave him a sympathetic look before disappearing.

Albus scoffed as he lay in bed. She may have been his friend, but he didn't like sympathetic looks from _anyone_. Then he realized that there was one person who would never pity him – and before his thought was finished, the Invisibility Cloak was around his shoulders and he was heading toward the Potions classroom. He didn't even stop to wonder whether Snape was there or in the Headmistress' Office, but it ended up not being an issue. The man was working on something in the back of his portrait, brewing some kind of potion. Albus idly wondered where the painting-created potions went once they were finished. Snape spoke without turning around.

"I would ask why one of my students was out of bed at this hour, but I realize that you have Astronomy this evening, no?" His voice was soft and snide; the tone that said 'I don't have to yell at you – you're already screwed'. There was a pause and, when Albus did not respond, he continued, "Why are you not in class?" He turned around after he finished stirring the potion.

Albus slipped out of the Invisibility Cloak and wrapped it around his arm so he wouldn't lose it. He considered how Snape had said "one of _my _students," and hesitated a moment before sitting in Professor Slughorn's seat, turning it so he could face the portrait. Snape narrowed his eyes slightly, but listened silently as Albus explained what had happened.

There was a long, heavy silence as Snape thought, turning to stand with his back toward Albus. Just as Albus began to feel that perhaps Snape was ignoring him in a way of telling him to go back to bed, Snape turned around again, and Albus realized that he had been wrong about two things.

The first; Snape could in fact express emotion such as sadness, and pain, and the second; even Snape would show pity toward Albus.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for sticking with me, you guys. You're the best. :)**


	6. The Know It All

**Disclaimer: I am, most unfortunately, not J.K. Rowling... so if you recognize something, it's not mine.**

* * *

_**Then There Were Two**_

**Chapter 6**

"_How _many times have I told you that it's rude to stare."

"I'm _sorry_! It's just – even after all this time – I still see – it's just, hard for me to see you as a portrait, is all." Hermione sounded just as exasperated as Snape was. "You're not the only one," She quickly added, and he scowled.

"Um, so, you wanted to discuss something?" Albus interjected, attempting to steer the conversation away from dangerous territory. _Then again, I don't think these two could have a conversation otherwise_, Albus thought to himself, raising his eyebrow.

Snape folded his arms across his chest and stood taller, sneering down at Hermione.

"Yes, I did want to discuss something," His tone of voice set off warning bells in Albus' head, and he looked warily at his aunt. She didn't seem deterred – in fact, she had also folded her arms and was glaring right back at the portrait.

"I don't see why you feel the need to – " She muttered, but he interrupted her,

"Don't think that I don't know you weren't the one to steal from my potions stores." She gaped at him.

"That was _years_ ago!" He raised his eyebrow sardonically.

"And you've hexed me – more than once." He added, appearing nonchalant and inspecting his fingernails.

"We _had_ to, and you know it!" She argued in annoyance. "You're being _ridiculous_!"

"You set me on _fire_!" He retorted, his glare daring her to argue again. Albus looked between the two, shocked. _Merlin, how did these two survive classes?_

"That…was a mistake, I admit." She looked away, biting her lip in embarrassment. Snape looked pleased with himself, and sat back down in his chair. Albus groaned and rubbed his face with his hands.

It was still early Saturday morning – Aunt Hermione had arrived during breakfast, and afterwards they had immediately made the trek down to the dungeons. Albus definitely did _not_ want to spend the better part of his weekend stuck between the two of them arguing about things that had happened years ago.

"Is this _seriously_ why you demanded to see her as soon as she got in?" Albus demanded Snape, who looked affronted. Hermione looked amused.

"Demanded, did he?" She asked wryly, raising her eyebrow. "As soon as I got in?" She was smirking in a manner that was very much like Snape himself.

"I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible." He snapped at her, which, for some reason, made her laugh. "For reasons I cannot _fathom_, they've agreed to have you teach potions for the entire week." He informed her, and she nodded.

"Yes, I know. I'm quite excited, really. I dabble in potions back home, but I haven't been able to truly immerse myself in the subject in quite a while. Plus," She looked at Albus, "I hear that a nephew of mine has quite the gift when it comes to potions. And only a First Year," With a proud smile, she ruffled his hair.

Albus groaned and flinched away from her, attempting to put it back in place. Unfortunately, he and his brother had inherited his father's hair – while it wasn't quite as untamable as James', it was still annoying to deal with if he let it grow out too long.

"And as if it truly matters, I asked to see you _after lunch_." Snape frowned toward Albus, who made a show of appearing uncomfortable, but shrugged as well.

"And to quote you, I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible." Albus told him, and Hermione chuckled when Snape's frown deepened.

"Gosh, you two must hang out together _much_ too often." She gave Albus a look. "Professor Slughorn told me that you like to work in here?" Albus shrugged again.

"Occasionally. Snape helps me." He said.

"_Professor_ Snape, Albus," Hermione automatically corrected, and then laughed. Snape sighed, and Albus looked confused.

"I'm not a professor any longer, Miss Granger – which leads me to my point. I _do not_ offer assistance in the classroom, whatsoever. You _will not_ badger me with questions either during the lectures _or_ on your free time. If I suddenly have the inclination to speak to you, I will let you know." He said dryly, as if he seriously doubted that were to happen. Hermione blinked.

"Professor Slughorn told me that you usually watched over the classes," She returned, and he scoffed.

"I simply watch, Miss Granger, and applaud that I no longer have to deal with such dunderheads." He said, and then gestured toward Albus. "There are exceptions, of course." He added, keeping his eyes away from theirs so it didn't seem like much consequence. Hermione looked surprised at Albus, who gave her a confused shrug. He hadn't necessarily thought that their… friendship, he supposed it was, was so strange.

There were a few moments of silence before Hermione sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Fine. I won't bother you." She agreed, but looked annoyed that she had to. Snape scoffed again.

"We shall see, Miss _Know-It-All_," He sneered, and to Albus' surprise, she gave him a wide grin.

"Why, I didn't know you missed me that much," She said pleasantly, and Albus snickered at Snape's facial expression.

He looked as if he'd swallowed one of Dumbledore's lemon drops.

Albus and Hermione were just finishing up a lesson in Transfiguration when they noticed it was time to head to the Great Hall for lunch.

"So, do you think you got it, now?" Hermione asked with a smile as Albus once more transfigured his quill into a pen, and back again. He gave her a big smile; something that not everyone had the privilege of seeing.

"Yeah! Thanks, Aunt Hermione! I understand it now," He said as he began to pack away his notes.

"Good! I'm glad I could help. And if you're having any more troubles, don't be afraid to ask Professor McGonagall." Hermione told him, patting his shoulder as she moved back to the teacher's desk. Albus furrowed his brows.

"But I'm a Slytherin." He told her, and she turned to raise her eyebrow at him.

"And?" She asked, leaning back against the edge of the desk.

"She's not… the most pleased about my – that I speak with Snape so much." Albus informed, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Hermione sighed and sent a quick glare toward the portrait frame. Snape looked irritated – which wasn't necessarily anything new, really. He had that look on his face the moment he'd seen Hermione this morning.

"Look, don't tell her I said this, but the Headmistress cares about Professor Snape very much," She ignored the sound of surprise from the portrait behind her and continued, "I'm sure that she's just… flustered that she has to deal with a mini-Snape, now." To Hermione's discontent, Albus looked pleased at this.

If she'd looked behind her, she would have seen that Snape looked rather pleased as well.

"Anyway, I wasn't able to eat much of a breakfast before I left the house this morning, and I'm looking forward to a good Hogwarts meal. Let's head up to the Great Hall, shall we?" She stood next to the doorway, waiting on her nephew.

"Well, I'll see you on Monday then, Snape." Albus walked right up to the edge of the desk to speak to the portrait.

"You've finished all your assignments for the weekend?" He asked the boy, who nodded in return.

"Yes Sir. This Transfiguration bit was the only thing I really needed help with." Snape nodded, and his eyes glinted with something akin to satisfaction.

"Good. As much as I do not approve of anything other than potions work going on in this room… you learned quickly." Albus seemed to stand a bit taller under this complement, and Snape quickly added, "Don't make a habit of it. Potions, and essays, but none of that foolish wand waving." He warned. It wasn't that he didn't approve of learning spells in general – he of all people knew that 'wand waving' saved lives, and was rarely ever foolish. However, practicing any sort of spells in _this_ particular room could prove to be very dangerous.

Hermione made a scoffing noise.

"'Foolish wand waving'? Seriously? Says the man who _created_ his own spells just because he _felt _like it…" Snape glared at her, and her facial expression was one that told Albus that she would have stuck her tongue out at him, had it not been so immature.

"You mean like Levicorpus?" Albus asked, and she looked sharply at him in surprise. "How do you know about that?" He wondered. Hermione stepped toward him.

"How do _you_ know about it, Albus?" She asked carefully, sounding alarmed. Albus furrowed his brows and looked at Snape, who had his hand over his face and was groaning under his breath.

"Well, I…" He took half a step away from her, wondering why she suddenly appeared sort of threatening. "I got in trouble for it a couple months ago." He shrugged; it really wasn't that big of a deal. "The Headmistress let me off, though. As long as I didn't do it again – and I haven't." He promised her. She seemed to relax a bit, but her glare toward Snape was angry again.

"_You_ didn't tell him about it – you wouldn't. So that means he's got that blasted book, then." She said to Snape, and then turned to Albus, "So did Harry give it to you then, or what? He told me he'd gotten rid of it!" She put her hands on her hips, and Albus held his hands up in defense.

"Don't get mad at _me_, Dad was just as surprised! Slughorn – _Professor _Slughorn gave it to me." He insisted, and Hermione narrowed her eyebrows at Snape.

"Don't look at me like that, _Gryffindor_. I'm just a portrait. What can I do?" He held his hands up in a 'what have you' gesture. She frowned.

"Harry and Ginny hid the book in the Room of Requirement. It shouldn't have been able to be found again… unless someone was _specifically_ looking for it." She said, refraining from pointing her finger at him. He sneered.

"Well then, Miss Know-It-All, _obviously_ someone was looking for it." He folded his arms across his chest. "It hardly matters now, as it is in Mr. Potter's possession – and frankly, I much prefer that over some _hasty Gryffindor_ – or a vengeful Slytherin."

Hermione glared at him in silence, knowing he was right. And she could hardly argue his barb toward Harry; she hadn't approved of the book in his hands either.

"What _is _it about everybody and this bloody book?" Albus muttered under his breath, and Hermione cuffed him on the back of his head.

"Language, Albus." She warned, and he muttered an apology. "It's dangerous. You were lucky _that_ was the spell you chose to use." She paused for a moment, eyeing him suspiciously. "Who did you use that spell on, Albus?"

"James," He mumbled, knowing he'd probably get cuffed again. To his surprise, Hermione only chuckled.

"Of course," She looked at Snape when she continued, "he undoubtedly deserved it." Albus didn't understand the silence between them after that statement. It was almost_ amiable_. Snape blinked, and gave her a very small nod. She turned back to Albus and demanded, "Why?"

"It doesn't matter now. I took care of it." Albus said, shifting his bag on his shoulder and glancing quickly toward Snape. His lips had thinned in annoyance. Albus had been successful about not bringing up the subject of Rose again around him. Hermione, however, wouldn't have that, and she raised her eyebrow at him. He sighed. "He was pestering Rose. Being a real prat. None of the others were doing anything, so I did."

Hermione ignored his language this time and pursed her lips. "That's rather Gryffindor of you, you know," She teased him lightly, and he glared at her.

"I'm no Gryffindor!" He yelled, sounding insulted. Hermione only laughed and nodded.

"Oh, that's for sure." She grinned, then changed gears, "So how is your cousin, anyway?" Albus glanced nervously to Snape once more before answering.

"They haven't bothered her since then… at least, not that I've noticed. We have Astronomy class together. And," He swallowed, knowing Snape probably wouldn't like this part, "we study together in the library a lot. After classes though, usually – so people don't bother us, you know." Albus felt good being able to talk comfortably about one of his closest friends. He certainly couldn't talk about her to the other Slytherins, and while Snape was a confidante, he'd already expressed his feelings toward Gryffindors.

Hermione smiled warmly, throwing her arm around Albus' shoulder. He allowed it for a moment, and then shrugged out of it.

"Good. I know it will be hard because of the House rivalries, but don't let that harm your friendship, Albus. You're family, and that comes first. She hasn't told me that James had been bullying her, but I will definitely let Harry know about this…"

"No! Please don't." Albus said, looking slightly alarmed. Hermione gave him a look.

"Albus, you won't get into trouble with you father; especially for defending my daughter. I'll make sure of it." Hermione promised him, and Snape made a choking noise. The two of them turned toward the portrait, unknowingly both giving him the same perplexed look.

"Your daughter?!" He inhaled sharply, looking thoroughly surprised. Hermione raised her eyebrow.

"Yes… Rose Weasley is my daughter. Really, don't be so surprised. Who else spends all their free time in the library?" She asked him dryly, and he merely blinked.

"Not _all_ her free time, really – we do hang out outside, too." Albus interjected, and Snape looked at him slowly.

"I… did not know she was of relation to you." He said, and Albus knew he was about to do something rather profound. Snape always spoke in a more formal manner when he was about to do something that he didn't normally do. "I apologize for my… earlier reaction to your friendship." He said, looking slightly pained as he did so. Whether it was because he truly felt guilty for his past actions, or that he didn't want to be apologizing, Albus wasn't entirely sure.

"Oh." Albus said. _Why _did _he react that way, then? _"Um, accepted," Albus nodded hesitantly toward Snape, who returned a nod. Hermione had a combination of a speculative look and pity, which Snape scowled at.

"_Keep your mouth shut_, Know-It-All," He snarled, and stalked out of the portrait.

"His robes even billow," Albus heard his aunt say softly, which only confused him all the more.

After lunch, Albus had spent the rest of his day planning and hanging out with Scorpius, Maura, and Eric. Flynn had showed up in the common room for a while, and showed them a few tricks he knew about wizards chess.

Dinner had come around eventually, and afterwards Albus went to the Potions Professor's office, which had a doorway leading into the private chambers. Slughorn had allowed Hermione to set up shop in the spare room, so she would be close to the classroom.

She had to admit, it was very strange spending her time in the dungeons, though she had spent a good part of the day catching up with a few of the other professors. Albus had at some point slipped a letter under the door, asking if he could come by after dinner.

"I wonder what's on that boy's mind," She mused aloud to herself as she settled onto one of the couches in front of the fire, a cup of tea and a book in hand. "Then again, considering he's been spending so much of his free time with Snape…"

"Aunt Hermione?" Albus' call from the doorway pulled her from her thoughts. She waved him over to sit on the couch across from her.

"Hello again, Albus," She smiled warmly, much more relaxed now that they weren't under the sneering eye of Severus Snape.

He seemed nervous as he settled himself into the couch, and she summoned a cup of tea for him. After he fixed it up and relaxed a bit, he said,

"Could you please not tell Dad about how much time I spend with Snape? I don't think he'd like it…"

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked carefully, raising her eyebrow in question. Albus shrugged in an uncomfortable manner.

"Well I mean, even if Dad likes him now, it's rather obvious that they were never… amiable." He tried, and Hermione laughed lightly.

"'Amiable' is one way to put it… I'll respect your privacy and not tell Harry – _but_, if you so much as practice one of those hexes on a _tree_, your father will be hearing about a _lot_ of things." She warned him, and he nodded quickly.

"Yes ma'am," He promised, looking more at ease. She smirked.

"Slytherin House is teaching you manners? I'm surprised." Albus made a face at her, rolling his eyes.

"We're to be respectful to those who deserve it," He said pointedly, and Hermione groaned and leaned back into the couch, taking a long drink from her mug.

"Oh, Merlin," She muttered under her breath. After a few moments of companionable silence, she leaned forward again, setting her now empty cup to the side. "So, was that all you wanted? Because I think you should be headed to your Common Room soon."

"Um, no, that was it…" Albus said as he stood, handing her his mug, "But, I just wondered… You two aren't going to start arguing in the middle of class, are you?" He asked dreadfully. _How embarrassing it would be if my aunt got chewed out by a man who's not even alive! They'd never let me live it down! _

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Albus. As he'd said himself, he won't be making a point to talk to me."

The cat-like grin on her face did nothing to ease Albus' worries.

* * *

**A/N: Perhaps we'll have a peek into Potions Class next time… ;) And not to worry, the Astronomy Tower will be explained soon!**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorite/etc – you all keep me going! **


	7. Soon to be Chapter 7

**A/N: This post will very soon be updated as Chapter 7, but some very good questions were asked and I'm hoping to clear some things up.**

**I'm keeping this as canon as possible – though there are a few differences in present-time for the sake of the story, I'm trying to keep all the history true to Rowling's work. Snape has no familial relation to any of the Potters; he is in the process of building a mentorship/friendship with the youngest son of Harry. He doesn't really associate himself with any of the others. His friendship with Harry's mother is mentioned, but other than that, I didn't want to get into his history with James and Lily.**

**I did check over what I've posted so far, and I think I found where the confusion was… in Chapter 3, it is Draco's son Scorpius that is speaking about Snape; saying he was friends with Lucius, and Draco's Godfather. I'm really sorry if that confused you… I'll change up the wording a bit so it's more clear.**

**Thank you for pointing that out to me, LeAnn! :)**

**Also – no worries about Albus' relationship with Rose. I know they're cousins (and that would be horrid if I turned that into something else! Bleh!), and I like to think that they became best friends during their Hogwarts years, so that's what I'm going with. Sorry if I made it look like a romantic relationship…. I'll try to clear that up too. :/**

**Thank you so much for your reviews!**

**Huggage,**

**DameBlaiddDrwg**

**PS: As I was checking over for inconsistencies, I did notice that I had at first written Snape as not knowing that Draco had survived the war… and then later wrote that a copy of Snape's portrait hung in (Lucius) Malfoy's Manor. Assuming that Draco would visit his parents at least for the holidays… I'll fix that as well. :P**


	8. Hermione Granger, Potions Professor

**Disclaimer: I am, most unfortunately, not J.K. Rowling... so if you recognize something, it's not mine.**

**A/N: I have no words but to ask for your forgiveness for how absurdly late this post is… and it's shorter than usual, unfortunately, because this is only what I was able to type out before classes started. I had hoped to hash out the rest of this post at some point, but as my busy days continue to pile up, I decided to at least give you guys what I have so far.**

**So, here it is, and as always, reviews are welcome.**

* * *

_**Then There Were Two**_

**Chapter 7**

"Wait – _Hermione Granger_ is teaching our potions class?" Malfoy sounded just as excited as the rest of them, who were muttering things to one another as they took their seats.

"Yes," Albus sighed. "This is going to be a long day," he mumbled to himself, and turned slightly to look for Rose out of the corner of his eye. She sent him an apologetic look from the other side of the room. She was probably the only other person in the room who was not looking forward to this class – except Snape, of course.

Looking up to the portrait, Albus had to hide his grin. Snape was scowling at them all, and looked ready to break his own rule of interfering.

"Is she really your aunt?" A Gryffindor leaned over to speak across Malfoy, and Albus winced. Malfoy, realizing that Albus was uncomfortable (and wanting an excuse to badger a Gryffindor), shoved the kid back into his own seat and scowled.

"Back off before I stick _you_ in a cauldron!" He threatened, and the other boy scrambled away to another seat. Albus chuckled and elbowed Malfoy.

"Thanks, mate."

"No problem," Malfoy grinned. "Sorry about asking earlier, though. I mean, I _do_ know a little of what it's like… though I think Grandfather gets more of this treatment than Dad does." Albus nodded knowingly – even during the Christmas holidays, Malfoy Manor had its share of reporters and the like.

"No problem," Albus said, and just when Maura turned around from in front of them to say something, the door to the classroom slammed against the wall.

Every single one of them jumped out of their seats, except Albus. He smirked in the dead silence that followed his Aunt's entrance.

"Always wanted to do that," She murmured with a grin on her face. The growl from Snape's portrait was very audible, which scared the students even more. Even when he never spoke to them, he still frightened them. "Quiet, you, or I'll put a curtain over you." She said, and Albus raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Did she just threaten him? In _front_ of an audience?" Malfoy hissed under his breath, and Albus silently nodded. "Wow," Malfoy sounded very impressed, and Albus gave him a worried look for a moment.

The students were all waiting on the edges of their seats, wondering how Snape would retaliate, and Hermione simply went about writing ingredients and instructions on the board.

Surprisingly, Snape only sneered disdainfully at her, and settled himself into his seat, picking up a book from the end table next to him.

"That's it?" Malfoy asked Albus incredulously. Albus grinned and shrugged.

"For now. He'll get her back, I'm sure. He waits for the perfect moment, where he can do the most damage – that's when he strikes." Albus explained, and Malfoy smirked.

"What a snake!" He sounded even more impressed in Snape, and Albus nodded in agreement.

When Hermione was finished writing, she moved to the front of the desk and leaned against it, silently gauging the room. A few of the students grew uncomfortable and began to shift in their seats, but still no one spoke. When her eyes came to Albus, he offered up a quick smile before dropping his eyes to the book in front of him.

Along with the Advanced Potion-Making book, he had his own copy of "Magical Drafts and Potions" that he'd bought in Diagon Alley. He flipped it open to "Cure for Boils", awaiting her instruction. Although the potions in this book weren't nearly as interesting as the others, he forced himself to be patient. Snape had been very _insistent_ that Albus not move ahead from the rest of the class.

"It's too dangerous," He'd said, "And you simply don't have the magical power to do those yet. Just give it time."

Albus had complained, but after a story from Hermione about a slightly failed advanced potion in her second year, he decided to follow their instruction and only brew what he was told.

"Well then," Hermione said, and her voice seemed to calm those who had grown antsy, "I assume that Professor Slughorn has had you brew the Boil-Cure Potion before?" No one answered, and Albus groaned.

"Yes, he has," He told her, loud enough to jar everyone into focus. Hermione smiled at him for a moment and then grew serious.

"Okay, obviously you all know who I am," She said, and Snape snorted but she continued as if she hadn't heard him, "Yes, I'm" She grimaced, "famous. No, I don't like it – and Snape, I swear if you scoff at me one more time…" A few of the students chuckled, and the room relaxed a bit. "No, I will not talk about _anything_ outside of Potions in this classroom," She gave them all they eye, and a few even nodded that they understood, "And no, I will _not _be _signing_ _anything_." She grimaced again, and Albus felt a little bit sorry for her. She didn't love the publicity, like Ron did, and she didn't handle it as well as Harry did either.

The room was silent again, and she raised her eyebrow. _She looks like Snape when she does that,_ Albus laughed silently, _I wonder what she would do to me if I told her that._

* * *

**A/N:****Since I'm stage managing two different shows at relatively the same time, my moments spent toward writing have dropped to about zero. However, I am looking forward to five days of reprieve during Thanksgiving break (a week and a half to go!), and at the very least I'll try to finish up this post, and hopefully get the next one up for you as well.**


	9. Update

Hello everyone. It has been too long since I have shown up here, and for that, all I can do is offer my sincerest apologies. I've been receiving your comments and PM's about how much you've enjoyed the story so far, and asking me about updates. Each time, I made a promise that I would get working on this again, or at the very least, send you a response.

Quite obviously, it took me a ridiculous amount of time to do so. I could sit here and tell you all about how university, summer jobs, theatre, and moving have all kept me away from my writing, but the truth is I just didn't manage my time very well. I got caught up in a completely different story for a while, and spent a lot of time focused solely on that one. I consider that to be very rude of me, when I have wonderful people such as yourselves waiting to hear about Albus and Severus.

So, here is my plan:

1) I will get back into this story immediately.

2) I am still waiting on internet in my new home (I'm typing all this out on my phone!) But as soon as I can get to a coffee shop or 'borrow' a friend's WiFi, I will begin uploading what I have written.

I know it may be very hard to believe at this point, but I do seriously intend on this to be a completed story. I wouldn't ask of you to be patient for me, since you have been for so long already, but I would appreciate if you could hold on just a little longer!

My sincerest thanks to you all,

DameBlaiddDrwg


	10. Lunchtime Discussions

**Disclaimer: I am, most unfortunately, not J.K. Rowling... so if you recognize something, it's not mine.**

**A/N: As promised, the cable company pulled through, and I now have internet at home. So, here's the next chapter! I tried to keep everything moving smoothly, but as it has been a while since I've written for these characters, please forgive any discrepancies of mine.**

**Especially now, I would absolutely love reviews… you guys will always be able to catch my mishaps better than I, no matter how many times I check over my work. :-)**

* * *

_**Then There Were Two**_

**Chapter 8**

"The anniversary is in a few days." Albus mentioned to his aunt, talking around a bite of sandwich. She frowned at him slightly, her expression reminding him of the Headmistress. He mumbled an apology and swallowed. "They've allowed us to spend it with our families, if we want to."

"I heard Remus talking about that the other day," Hermione replied, and Albus caught Severus scowling behind her.

They were eating lunch on Slughorn's desk; Hermione was perfectly allowed to do so, being an interim professor, but they decided to keep quiet about Albus joining her occasionally.

"What are you going to do?" Albus asked, unsure about his own plans. Scorpius had invited him over to their home for the weekend, but Albus had no idea if his own father had any plans.

They usually held a get-together at Grimmauld; inviting the Weasleys, Longbottoms, and any other friends from Harry's past. The Malfoys were always invited too, but Draco was the only one who ever arrived, and he only showed up two or three times. And Albus had overheard his father saying last year that there were so many Weasleys these days, they might have to find a different place to meet.

"I'll probably bring Uncle Ron and the kids over to your house, or wherever it is we're meeting this year," Hermione said, looking at him with some surprise. "That's what we always do, isn't it?" She said with a smile, and Albus shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, but…" He trailed off, and took a large bite of his sandwich so he wouldn't have to continue. Hermione raised her eyebrow at him.

"But, what? You don't want to come back home for it?" She asked him gently. She would understand that. Even the wizards with the greatest home life still found themselves missing Hogwarts during the holidays. It was hard not to call a place like this home.

"I'll be _surrounded_ by Gryffindors," Albus complained suddenly, "I'm the _only_ Slytherin."

"Neville is Hufflepuff, as is Teddy." Hermione reminded him, with a smile. Albus frowned.

"Uncle Neville is only the Head of Hufflepuff. He's still a Gryffindor. And Teddy…" Albus trailed off, an unsure look on his face. Teddy was great, but he was definitely more of a friend of James' than he was of Albus. "Teddy might as well be Gryffindor." Hermione shook her head, sighing.

"Albus, who was the one who first played a game of Quidditch with you?" Hermione asked her nephew, her eyebrow raised expectantly. Albus scowled and looked down at his plate.

"Ted," He mumbled, pushing the chips around the plate.

"Exactly," Hermione said, leaning back into the chair. "And I remember that day very clearly. Do you remember how old you were? Four. Four years old, and on the back of a broom all by yourself. You scared the living daylights out of your father, if you recall."

Albus grinned, having heard the story before. He wished he could remember it, himself. Dad had been so mad at Teddy; the boy had been banished to his room for the rest of the day.

"Too bad I didn't turn out any good at it," Albus said, shrugging it away. He didn't really care about flying, honestly. James had certainly gotten all the talent from their father. Albus still loved Quidditch, of course, but you'd never find him playing it.

"Talent in one's studies is more useful, anyway," Snape said, and Hermione moved her chair to the side slightly so he wasn't blocked from the conversation.

"Even the foolish wand-waving?" Hermione couldn't help but tease him, and he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Insufferable…" He muttered, and Hermione laughed. She was going to miss having the opportunity to hassle him so much.

Snape focused on Albus, knowing that the boy had been invited to the Malfoy's and was still debating on the offer.

"My advice, boy, is to put up with the rest of your family for the weekend." He said, as if that were the most abhorred thing to do in existence, and Hermione frowned and glared at him. He ignored her, and continued, "This wouldn't be the best of weekends to be at the Malfoy's. In fact," He added after a moment, something of a grimace on his face, "You may want to invite young Mr. Malfoy to join _you_, instead."

Albus caught the upset look on Hermione's face, and looked down as he considered the idea. He knew what was behind Snape's warning; Scorpius' grandfather could get violent sometimes if he was allowed to get too drunk, and anything considering the war never went over well. Scorpius himself had never been in harm's way, at least as far as Albus was aware, and it would help _him_ feel better if he had another of his Slytherin friends with him. He just wasn't sure how Scorpius would take it, or if he would even accept the idea – or if his father would let him accept it.

"You don't think Lucius would…" Hermione said lowly, turning to face Snape. The man raised his eyebrows, expressing a shrug.

"He may not. He never has before; he usually just gets severely depressed. However… I don't think it would do the boy good to see his grandfather in that way," Snape replied, looking uncomfortable to admit that he cared, "He looks up to Lucius in many ways." Hermione nodded silently, understanding.

"Is he still – does he still miss it?" Hermione asked, somewhat to herself, but Snape heard her. He looked on the verge of anger.

"Does it disgust you that someone would miss being a _Death Eater_?" He mocked her, scowling, and Albus looked up toward the two, picking up the beginnings of another argument.

"That's not what I said, and you know it." Hermione frowned at him, folding her arms. "I understand that there are…things to be…missed." She hesitated, trying to find the right words. Snape raised his eyebrow at her haughtily. "Well," She huffed, "He had friends, didn't he? Maybe they weren't the best choice, but _he_ thought so. And he was important, which everyone _knows_ he enjoyed that." Snape couldn't help but smirk a little in agreement with that.

"He lost many friends. That, he does realize, and remember. Every damn anniversary." Snape said in his monotone voice, though Albus and Hermione both detected some annoyance. Hermione suddenly looked apologetic, and winced.

"Sorry," She said to Snape, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Scorpius did tell me that his grandfather and you were friends." Albus offered up, wanting to get rid of the depressing mood in the room. Dark, sarcastic moods, he could handle – but depressing, he'd rather do without.

"We were," Snape nodded, appearing slightly more at ease. He looked at Albus thoughtfully. "Not unlike young Mr. Malfoy and yourself, no doubt." He said, almost looking pleased. "Of course," He added with a frown, "_Work_ always got in the way of things."

Although Hermione had observed conversations between Albus and Severus for the past week, she still found herself surprised at the openness in which Severus spoke with the young boy. She imagined that had something to do with the fact that Harry was the one who ensured the paintings be hung, and that he no doubt attempted to get some of those positive memories incorporated into the magic of the portrait.

Albus nodded solemnly to Snape, and Hermione smiled at her nephew proudly. He was already so much more mature than Harry was at that age; definitely more so than his older brother James, as well.

"Still wondering what to do about the weekend?" Hermione asked Albus when she noticed his troubled look.

"No…" He hesitated, looking at Snape's portrait timidly. Snape raised his eyebrow as he sat down in his chair.

"I've already given you the freedom to ask me any question you'd like." Snape reminded the boy, and Hermione stared at the portrait in shock. Snape sneered at her mockingly. "That does not give _you_ the freedom to be a little know-it-all, however." Hermione scoffed and turned back to face her nephew, so Snape wouldn't see her look of frustration. So here she was, able to _see _that Snape was being relatively kind, but quite obviously he only extended that courtesy to one person.

"I just wondered… I mean, I've kind of wondered for a while now… but – well, what did they do with your body?" Albus asked, and Snape blinked; the only indication he'd heard the boy's question. After a long moment of oppressive silence, the portrait replied,

"That is an interesting question." He sounded slightly curious, and Hermione turned to face him incredulously. "I am, actually, somewhat curious about this. Morbidly so, I suppose, but nonetheless." He raised his eyebrow in question, toward Hermione.

_Someday, he's going to have to teach me how he can emote so many different things with just one eyebrow._ She thought to herself, wondering if there was a way she could get out of answering the question. There wasn't, of course, as the two Slytherins stared at her expectantly. She sighed.

"Do you even _know_, Miss Know-It-All?" Snape asked sarcastically. Hermione's lip curled, the urge to stick her tongue out at him incredibly strong. She suppressed it, however, as she usually did.

"Of course I _know_ – _I _was the one…" She halted, pinching her lips together. Albus had leaned forward in his seat with interest, and Snape had even inclined his head toward her slightly.

"You were the one, what?" Snape asked carefully, and Hermione sighed again. She glanced at her nephew.

"Albus, did Harry ever tell you what had happened? Or is all you know from what _Hogwarts: A History_ could tell you?" She asked him.

"I don't know specifics," Albus admitted, "but I do know that you and dad were there when it happened – "

"When I died." Snape interjected, and Albus bit his lip.

"Yeah, that." Albus said uncomfortably. He never liked actually saying that; he spent hours talking and working with the man. Sometimes, Albus sort of forgot that Snape _was_ dead.

"Well," Hermione sighed, leaning back in her chair and staring at the doorway to the classroom. She refused to look either of them in the eye as she spoke. "As everyone began gathering the bodies to be sorted, I was distracted at first because of your Uncle Fred." She said his name softly.

Albus nodded. He'd been told about his uncle that had died before he was born, mostly as a warning not to ask his Uncle George too many questions about him. The topic always made Uncle George sad, and nobody else liked it when he was sad.

"Eventually, I started helping to heal some of the wounded. I couldn't do much, of course – I didn't have training as a Healer – but I did what I could. I was helping your Uncle Neville when he mentioned the Sword, and I realized that he had it with him, under the cot he was sitting on."

Snape looked surprised and somewhat suspicious at this, but he didn't interrupt.

"I asked him about it – I had thought Harry had it – and he said he'd pulled it out of the Sorting Hat." Hermione chuckled to herself then. That Hat certainly held magical qualities that no one could even begin to explain. "Saved his life," She continued, "He'd been about to get attacked by Nagini…" She trailed off, and looked up at Snape. He blinked at her, his face carefully devoid of emotion. "Cut her head off, one clean swipe."

"Woahhh," Albus breathed, awed. He always sort of got the impression that Uncle Neville was the least 'action-oriented' of all of them, even though the others were always talking highly of him.

Snape barked out a laugh, though it wasn't a pleasant one.

"My death was avenged by _Longbottom_…of_ course._" He laughed unpleasantly again, shaking his head.

"Fitting, isn't it?" Hermione smirked at him, and Albus didn't quite understand why she was teasing him.

"So, go on!" Albus urged, impatient. Sobered, Hermione frowned sadly.

"Well, that reminded me of you, of course," Hermione gestured toward Snape, and Albus looked confused.

"Why would Neville killing the snake remind you of Snape?" He asked his aunt, but it was Snape who responded.

"Because the snake is what killed me." Albus stared at the portrait with wide eyes.

"Weird…" He said quietly, and Snape and Hermione both raised their eyebrows (which Albus would have normally found amusing, but he was too busy putting connections together in his head).

"You find that odd? What, too boring of a death for you? Sorry you couldn't have been named after a martyr." Snape said dryly, and Hermione shot him a look.

"No need to be rude." She warned him, and he scoffed and rolled his eyes. Albus shook his head.

"No, no – it's ironic, isn't it?" He said, laughing a little. Snape gave him an incredulous look, and the light of recognition hit Hermione's eyes, and she chuckled as well.

"Irony is one way to put it," She agreed, "Especially since you're in Slytherin."

"What the devil is ironic about – okay, I can see how _my _death by a snake is ironic, but what has that got to do with the Potter boy?" Snape demanded, frustrated that they were amused and he couldn't see why.

"I _hate_ snakes." Albus told Snape, "I mean, I have a serious _phobia_ of snakes. Ever since I was a baby. My dad said he realized it when James had found a garter snake in the garden, and came inside with it to show Mum. She'd just finished nursing me, and I took one look at that thing and _screamed_. They all panicked at first, of course, but as soon as the snake was out of the room, I was fine." Albus explained. Snape blinked at him, and then smirked.

"That is…rather interesting." He amended, eyeing Albus' Slytherin crest on his robes. "How ever do you manage the common room?" Snape was looking more and more amused.

"Don't mock me," Albus told him, but grinned. "Honestly it did bother me for a bit, but my dad had prepared me for that. Well," He added, "Not exactly prepared me to see it _every day_, but I knew I was going to have to get used to seeing the crest around the school."

"You never had a negative experience around them, otherwise?" Snape asked curiously. Albus shook his head, shrugging.

"We always just assumed it was one of those random things. I'm surprised my dad didn't guess that maybe it had something to do with you. I mean, names are a pretty strong thing, right? Especially if you're named _after_ someone… at least, that's what I read. I can't remember where." He trailed off, realizing he was blabbering. Hermione looked proud of him though, while Snape was rolling his eyes again.

"Of _course_ you read that somewhere… you're a little know-it-all too, aren't you?" He muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes. Albus laughed.

"Aunt Hermione is the previous student I remind you of?" He connected from their previous conversation, and Snape groaned. Hermione raised her eyebrow to her previous professor, very amused.

"You noticed that, did you?" She asked cheekily, and Snape glared at her.

"Unfortunately."

"Where did you read that about the names?" Hermione asked Albus, curious about the subject. The boy shrugged.

"I can't remember exactly. It was one of the books here at the library. I found it after meeting Snape the first time. I was curious about namesakes and all that. I mean, most of it is all lore, but some people say there's magic in it." He explained, unsure how to interpret the look Snape was giving him.

"I don't know whether to be interested, repulsed, or extremely worried, Albus Severus." Snape said seriously, and Hermione laughed again.

"Well…" Albus trailed off, his mind back to the story his aunt had been telling. "So you went to look for him, then?" Albus asked her, and she nodded. Snape looked surprised, and silently waited for her to explain.

"Yes, I kind of left Neville in the middle of dressing him, actually." She said, staring off into the distance again. "Dressing his wound, I mean," She added quickly, noticing Albus' look of distaste. Snape snorted. "Anyway, it was difficult to get to the shack, at first. There was a lot of rubble, and I ended up having to go through the woods to get to it."

"Not the safest of choices you've made in your lifetime." Snape said dryly, and she shot him a look.

"Yeah, well, I was a little preoccupied, okay? I wasn't even sure if you were actually dead. I was trying to make sure I had a bezoar for you, at the very least." She huffed, and his gaze seemed to soften slightly. "Of course, that didn't matter at that point, anyway." She looked away from him again. "The building was mostly untouched; most of the battle had happened on the other side of the school, or within the school itself. So I could see as soon as I entered the room that you were still there. Exactly how we left you." She said the last part with some distaste. She hadn't forgiven herself for just leaving him there like that, regardless of their situation or the danger.

"So did you _leviosa_ my body across the grounds, then?" Snape asked somewhat sarcastically, seeing that she was getting emotional and wanting to avoid that as much as possible.

"Absolutely not!" She glared at him, and he looked at her with some surprise.

"What, did you _carry_ him?" Albus asked incredulously, and to his surprise, his aunt blushed slightly.

"Well, not by myself, obviously." She muttered, looking at the bottom of Snape's frame, "I sent a patronus to Seamus. I knew he was unhurt and the most trustworthy person available to me at the time. I didn't tell him who you were, at first, though. I just told him that I had a body out by the shack that I needed help with.

"Unsurprisingly, he gave me hell when he first arrived. Er, don't repeat that, Albus. He wouldn't help me at first, and couldn't understand why I _didn't_ just use leviosa. I persuaded him, anyway, and he helped me carry you into the Great Hall."

"You carried my dead body all the way to the Great Hall?" Snape asked her in disbelief, though his voice was monotone. Hermione shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

"Look, I was feeling sorry for myself, sorry for you, I'd just gone through battle, and I was a _kid_. Who knows really why I did what I did? It ended up helping, regardless," She mumbled, and then said more clearly, "Nobody really paid that much attention at first; they just saw two people bringing in yet another body. But then some people realized we were carrying you, and offered a cot. We set you on it, and they must not have recognized you because they didn't really react, but as we continued down the hall, people could see who you were more clearly… pretty soon almost everyone was staring at us. Seamus was getting really uncomfortable so I told him where we could set you down, and he took off pretty quickly after that." Hermione paused, glancing at Albus.

"I learned later he'd gone to throw up. It wasn't… it wasn't pretty, Albus." She told her nephew softly. He blinked with wide eyes. He'd never gotten stories this detailed from his father.

"Quite a lot happened rather quickly, after that, but to make it short; we argued for your defense, and we eventually won. Harry, Neville, and I buried you in the cemetery at Hogsmeade, where all the others we lost that day were buried, too. We put you underneath the big tree by the lake. I don't know why, exactly, but Harry said it was the best place."

Snape blinked, swallowed, and nodded. He was pleased with the choice.

"There's a little plaque there, but people won't really notice it unless they know to look for it. We figured you wouldn't want publicity." She said dryly, and Snape grinned wryly in agreement. "And then, of course, you know the rest. It's in the history books." She finished, gesturing toward her nephew, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, all the court stuff and all that." Albus said. He gave his aunt a curious look. "I didn't know you were that involved in the whole thing," He said, and Hermione nodded gently.

"I didn't like to talk about it, for a very long time. Snape was never necessarily our favourite professor," She said wryly, smirking toward the portrait. Snape laughed shortly.

"I was never _anyone's _favourite professor, Miss Granger; you hardly need to feel guilty about the fact. I didn't _want_ to be anyone's favourite." Snape insisted, to which Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh, we were all quite aware how very hard you tried to make us all hate you," She told him, and to Albus' surprise, he appeared pleased at what she said.

"Well," He said haughtily, inspecting his fingernails, "The Prophet did consider me "the greatest spy who ever lived", did it not?" Albus stared at his namesake, unsure whether to be amused or disturbed at how very 'Malfoy' that all was.

"Well, you're _my _favourite professor." Albus spoke up, speaking determinedly. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him, though she didn't appear surprised. Snape looked decidedly uncomfortable again, and shifted in his chair.

"I am no longer a professor, much less yours," Snape muttered, avoiding Hermione's teasing look.

"Well – well, you're my favourite… mentor, then." Albus insisted, and Snape stared at him quietly. Hermione smiled softly, and turned to her nephew,

"Can you step out for a minute, Albus? I would like to say something to Snape." She asked, and Albus opened his mouth to argue, but Snape interrupted,

"Five minutes, Albus. Stand out by the door." Snape ordered gently, and Albus closed his mouth and sighed, nodding.

"Okay," He muttered, and shuffled out of the room, though he didn't close the door behind him all the way.

Hermione turned toward Snape, looking him over as she thought.

"You called him by his first name." She said, and Snape narrowed his eyes at her.

"I do not like to associate him by the title 'Mr. Potter'," He said after a moment of silence, "I assume you understand."

"Of course." Hermione replied, eyeing him again. He sighed loudly.

"What is it you want?"

"He sees you as a mentor. I just want to make sure you mentor him _well_," Hermione warned, "And not simply turn him into a mini version of yourself."

Albus heard Snape laugh at that; a laugh that Albus himself had only heard once before. A _positive_ laugh.

"His name is _Albus_ Severus, not Severus Albus… I'm sure you'll want to have this discussion with Dumbledore, more likely." Snape said, amused. Hermione groaned.

"I think that might be worse." She complained, and Snape chuckled.

_He's just laughed twice within two minutes; happily. While talking to Aunt Hermione. This is so weird._ Albus thought to himself.

There was a long silence, and Albus was about to enter the room again, when Snape spoke up once more.

"Miss Granger?" He said, and Hermione looked up at him.

"Yes?" She asked, and he looked her in the eye and said,

"Thank you."

_No hesitation? How can he go from arguing and yelling at her to talking with her even more comfortably then he talks with me?_ Albus wondered.

Hermione smiled and replied simply, "You're welcome." Albus wasn't sure what they were talking about, but he had a feeling something very meaningful just happened.

He knocked on the door.

"Can I come back in now?" He called through the small opening, and at Hermione's confirmation, he entered the room.

"Well," Hermione said, standing and stretching, "I should get my things packed up." She waved her wand at their empty lunch plates and they disappeared to the kitchens. "I'll see you, Severus Snape. It was an … interesting experience." She said wryly, and Snape bowed his head slightly toward her.

"Indeed, Hermione Granger." He replied, and was silent until she left the room.

"Well," Albus said, unsure of what else to say.

"You remember to ask Mr. Malfoy if he wants to join you for the weekend." Snape reminded Albus, who nodded quickly.

"Yes Sir, I will." Albus promised, and the corners of Snape's mouth quirked up in an almost-smile.

"Good. And Albus?"

"Yessir?"

"You have a lot to learn, but…" Snape shifted in his chair again, "I would be proud to be your mentor." A wide grin spread across Albus' face. "Now, go help your Aunt Know-It-All pack." Snape continued quickly to interrupt Albus from saying anything, waving his hand toward the office door. "I don't want her to have any arbitrary excuse to return here any time soon." Snape complained, but Albus smirked as he followed his Aunt. He knew that Snape wasn't really all that bothered by Aunt Hermione, no matter how hard he tried to appear to be.

* * *

**A/N: I start work next week, but during my time without internet I wrote down plans for where I want this story to go, and how I want it to finish. I'm hoping this will keep me from having to pull my own teeth to keep things rolling. :P**

**Thank you again, for sticking with me through my unintended hiatus.**


End file.
